Morals
by crazykittymomma
Summary: Modern Hiccup and Astrid. When Astrid is in an accident, it's Hiccup who comes to her rescue. But, really, who is saving who?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not typically like to write modern stories, but over the years I have other ideas for other stories in my head. This is one of those ideas, just replaced with Hiccup and Astrid. Let me know what you think of this little one shot!**

 **I do not own "How to Train Your Dragon" or it's characters.**

...

Hiccup sighed. Sleep was not coming to him at all. He looked at his watch, and sighed again when he realized it was only seven o'clock in the evening. He just wanted to sleep through this grounding. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen. He rolled his eyes and decided to get out of bed.

He had to roll very strategically to avoid rolling onto the black cat that had settled itself under the covers beside him. The toothless old guy just wanted to be warm and snuggle. It looked up at him with his green eyes, and grumbled.

"I'll be back, bud. We can cuddle in a little bit," Hiccup said to him, and with that he threw the covers back over the cat.

In the kitchen he made himself a bowl of warm tomato soup. He lived off the stuff considering his father didn't cook, and since he was grounded-no take out Chinese this evening. He couldn't even go near the car without his father giving him eye this week.

Hiccup slipped into his tennis shoes, then wrapping his bowl up in a dish towel, he reached for his sketch pad on the kitchen table, and headed towards the front door. Doing so, he passed his father's work study.

"Son-" his father called to him. "Where are you slipping off to?"

Hiccup put his head down, took a step backwards, and looked at his father from the thresh way. He looked to be knee-deep in paper work.

"Just going out on the porch," Hiccup said to him. "I promise I won't step a food off of it."

"You better not," his father said to him. "I hope you learned something this week."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Hiccup. "No parties."

"Parties are okay. Just not the type you went to," Mr. Vast replied to him. "What are you sketching?"

Hiccup was thankful his father changed the subject. "Not too sure just yet to be honest. Not much inspiration out here, unfortunately."

His father chuckled at him. "Monday, you will have your freedom back."

Hiccup nodded at his father, then took his leave out to the porch. The weather was cold and snow had actually been falling gently, but he didn't care. There, he settled himself up on the stone wall, leaned against the pillar, and began eating his soup.

The night was cold and rainy, but at least he wasn't cooped up inside the house. He longed for the weekend to be over. At least at school, he could be social and out exploring the woods for something to draw. He could spend hours out there. As long as he came home by dark, with his father's car in one piece, his father did not care.

He tipped the bowl up to his mouth, and sipped the last bit of soup down. He sat it and his spoon aside, and reached for his sketch pad. Flipping to a random drawing, he folded the book over, and came to stop on a sketch he had done in art class. It was of a pop can. He still had not completed the shading. It reminded him of the weekend before, and with that he sighed, wishing it hadn't reminded him.

A week from today, he and his father were in an argument. He was having one of his heated teen moments, upset at the world, depressed, and hurt. He had asked his father where his mother had actually gone year before. His father told him he did not know, as he had always told Hiccup. Deep down at the time, Hiccup felt that his father actually did know where his mother disappeared to but refused to tell him. Hiccup had stormed out of the house, going on a walk.

He had found himself at one of Snotlout's parties. He had never been there, but as he was walking by, some random people from school had invited him up to the porch to talk about school. Within five minutes, someone slipped an open beer in his hands. From there, Hiccup's first taste of the beverage circled into a horrible spiral. From a taste, to one beer gone, to five, Hiccup was a mess. And he had tried to walk home at two in the morning a complete mess. His father had found him on his way home, stumbling. Instead of screaming at him there, his father had helped him into the car, drove the remaining five blocks home, and helped Hiccup into the house. Hiccup had only made it into the house before he had started to feel sick.

Hiccup sighed, remembering feeling the sobering feeling as he finished puking into the commode. The following day, a migraine from Valhalla greeted him when he woke up. Surprisingly, other than a calm conversation with his father at the breakfast table that morning, and a week's grounding, that was all that happened to him.

"You aren't a lad that goes looking for that kind of trouble," Mr. Vast told him. "Considering what you have been going through, I don't see the point in yelling at you. But, for a week, other than going to school, you will be at home, got me?"

It was true. Hiccup was usually just a quiet kid lost in his sketches, the woods and books. He rarely caused any issues for his father. He knew how hard his father worked to keep a roof above their heads. He did not want to cause his father any grief, most of the time.

Hiccup turned the book closed. He had thought he wanted to sketch, but he didn't. Instead, he looked to the street and started counting the cars that passed by. He started counting just the red cars, then he decided to count the blue cars once he counted ten of the red. He reached for his sketch book, and started counting every color that passed by: black, gray, white, red, white. He chuckled to think that this was actually entertaining his sixteen year old mind. As a kid, this worked on car rides with his father or when he was with his friends. He never dreamed this would satisfy his maturing brain.

He glanced at his watch. He had been outside for an hour. His rear was becoming cold from sitting on the stone. He knew he needed to go inside before he caught a cold.

As if on cue, he heard the screen door open to the house. His father had come out to check on him.

"You will catch pneumonia again if you stay out here," he said to him.

Hiccup laughed to himself. He leaned his head back against the pillar and continued to stare blankly into the street. "I'll be in shortly, Dad." At this point, he was being stubborn. He felt like his father was giving him an order to come inside, but in the end he knew he was not. Merely just checking up on him.

He heard the screen door slam closed behind him. After a moment, he decided to head inside. He closed his sketchbook, and headed towards the door.

As he reached his hand to pull on the metal door, he heard a screech in tires. He turned back towards the street, and saw a bright yellow Mustang coming down the road from his left, speeding. It was Snotlout, showing off. Hiccup rolled his eyes. He really disliked the guy's arrogance, but what was he going to do? Couldn't talk sense into him even if he had tried.

Hiccup turned to head back into the house again, but stopped short when he heard a crash behind him, and it was close. Hiccup dropped his sketchbook and turned around to look and see what Snotlout had hit in the street.

At first he thought he had hit his father's car, but that was not the case. Instead, he had hit another person coming from the opposite end of the street head on. Before thinking, Hiccup rushed out into the street.

He stood at the hoods of the cars for a moment, internally trying to figure out which way to turn. His heart pounded. His first thought was to see if anyone was hurt. Snotlout's driver's side door opened, and out he stumbled. He screamed loudly, and then doubled over and puked. Hiccup shook his head, then turned and went towards the other driver.

The windows were foggy, and he couldn't see into the car. He reached for the handle and tugged, but the door wouldn't open at all. Backing up, Hiccup realized either the door was locked inside, or the impact had pushed the side-panels backwards, keeping the door from opening.

Hiccup tried knocking hard on the window. He could tell the person inside wasn't moving. He could tell from the shadows the airbag had deployed.

It was then that Hiccup became conscious of his other senses. He could hear voices of neighbors outside who came to inspect the accident. He looked around himself, and saw the few neighbors that had come out had not come off of their own porches. They only stood looking out.

"Hiccup!"

He turned around and saw his father was on the porch as well, but instead of standing there watching, he was coming to see what his son was doing.

"What are you doing?" he asked him. "Go inside!"

"Dad- she's not awake!" Hiccup said to him. "She's not responding-"

"I will handle it from here, just go inside and stay there!" his father yelled at him.

Hiccup tried the door again, but it would not open. He then tried the back-driver's side door. It would not open either.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup felt like he was drowning. He was worried about the person who Snotlout had hurt by acting stupid. Drinking AND driving, how irresponsible could he be?!

In the yard, was Hiccup's answer. He headed down into the yard, and reached for a brick that lined the flower bed. As he came back, he realized his father had thought he was heading to the house to go inside, but that was not the case. Hiccup rushed up to the car, startling his father, and threw the brick right through the back passenger door window. From there, Hiccup reached his hand inside, and pulled the lock upwards so that he could open the door. Without moving his right hand from the inside of the car, he reached over with his left, and pulled the latch on the front door. It opened.

Pulling his right hand back out, he rushed over to the driver in the front seat. He paused when he realized who it was.

Astrid. She was a girl in his grade. They had never really spoken. But, he recognized her. She was unconscious in her seat, her head was turned away from him.

"Hiccup, go inside!" his father demanded. He ignored his father, and instead, crouched down on his knees next to the car.

"I'm not leaving her side until someone comes," Hiccup said to his dad.

"There you go, acting irrational again-"

"I know who she is, Dad," Hiccup said. "I go to school with her."

He turned back to her, and saw her eyes flutter. She gasped when she was startled. Her hair was pulled into one side braid. She went to reach for her seat belt to unbuckle herself, but she winced in pain. Hiccup saw the fear in her eyes.

"Astrid," he said gently to her.

She gasped, and barely moved. He could tell he had startled her a little more than what she already was. She squinted her eyes at him, and he saw her making the connection.

"H-Hiccup?" she said quietly.

"It's going to be okay," he said to her. He turned to his father, and realized he was on his cell phone calling the emergency in. "What hurts?"

"My-my shoulders and neck," she said quietly.

"Don't move your head," Hiccup said to her. "Keep calm. Help is going to come."

He saw more fear on her face, and even a few tears escaped her eyes. She sniffled gently.

"Astrid, don't be startled," Hiccup said to her. He had to do something to try to comfort her. He felt bad that she was scared. He reached his left hand up and took her closest hand. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away. Instead, she squeezed it tightly.

"Help is coming," Mr. Vast said. Instead of trying to usher his son back to the house, he leaned over the car slightly, and looked inside at Astrid. "Astrid, I'm Hiccup's dad. Is there anyone I need to call for you?'

"My parent," she gasped out. She told him a phone number, and he was back on his cell phone making the call for her.

In the distance, Hiccup could hear the sirens. He felt his heart still pounding, worrying about how scared she was, but he simply squeezed her hand, letting her know he was right there.

Suddenly, he felt someone grab his shoulders and push him away. It was a paramedic.

"Hiccup-" Astrid said to him, looking for him.

"It's okay, I'm still here," he called to her. He felt strong hands grab his shoulders and direct him out of the way of the medics. It was then that Hiccup felt a pit in his stomach, and he was suddenly a little unsteady on his feet.

"Son, go back to the house," Mr. Vast said to him. "I'll be in once she's on the truck-"

Hiccup's eyes were becoming unfocused. "Dad, I-I don't feel so good."

"Hiccup!" his father yelled at him. His vision was becoming very fuzzy. He felt his father grab his arm, and from there he blacked out.

...

Hiccup had been in and out of consciousness. He had registered himself being cold, but suddenly he was cold and very wet. Then, he heard the sirens of the ambulance truck, and then he heard voices around him. When he actually regained consciousness, he could hear a monitor in the background. The room was dimmed, but he could tell light was coming from somewhere.

He moved his left arm, and felt something rub against his arm, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He tried to sit up, but his right arm wasn't cooperating. It felt tied down. What was going on?

Suddenly, he heard the sound of a door push open, and more light came into his room.

"Morning, Mr. Vast," said a voice.

"Hello," was his father's deep reply.

"You know, we could bring a cot in for you, instead of you sleeping in that chair-"

"I'm all right," he said. "Would you mind bringing me some water?"

"I sure will, once I check your son's vitals-"

Hiccup felt a hand touch his arm, and he jumped suddenly.

"Hiccup-"

"Dad-where-what-"

"Easy, son," his father said to him. He grabbed Hiccup's shoulder and rubbed it. "Easy."

Hiccup heard a monitor start beeping more behind him. "Dad-am I in the hospital?"

"Yes-but you won't be here too long," he said. "Let Kyle here get your vitals, and if you are up to it, I'll fill you in."

Hiccup felt his pulse quicken again as the male nurse wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his left arm. After feeling it get really tight, Kyle loosened the pressure, removed the cuff, and ran a "wand" over Hiccup's forehead, getting an accurate temperature reading. Hiccup watched him check two bags hanging from a pole behind his head, made some scribbles on a board, clicked his pen and looked at his father.

"Now, you said you wanted some water. For you, Hiccup, I am sure you could use some as well."

Hiccup nodded, realizing his throat was rather dry. With the Kyle left the room, and Hiccup let out a heavy breath.

Mr. Vast looked very exhausted and stiff as he came over to Hiccup's bed and took a seat there. He swallowed, and let out a breath.

"You had to be Mr. Hero tonight," he said. "When that girl got in that accident-"

Hiccup gasped. "Astrid! Is she okay!"

His father placed his hand on his shoulder. "She's fine. She's going to be pretty sore from the air bag deploying, but other than that, she seems to be okay. She went home tonight. You on the other hand-however-" His father signed and shook his head. "I am proud of you for taking care of her. But, in your urgency, you hurt yourself."

Narrowing his eyes, Hiccup looked at his father. "How?"

"Well, the paramedic figured it out," his father replied. "When you reached into the back window to unlock the front door, you sliced your arm on the broken glass. You didn't realize you had-you were too focused on trying to help her."

Hiccup bit the inside of his lip. "Which means-"

"You lost a lot of blood, and passed out on us. That's why you are still in the hospital-" His father rubbed his temples, and that was when Hiccup noticed his father's forearm had a bandage over it.

"Dad, did you have to give me blood?" Hiccup asked him.

"I did," he said to him. "With you being B negative, we needed to find a blood type that would match yours. Well, that was me."

Hiccup sighed. "Thanks, Dad." He leaned his head back again against his pillow. "Well, I wanted out of the house. But not this way."

"I think you learned your lesson from last week," his father said. "You do realize who hit your friend, don't you?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "He was trashed."

"That he was. Promise me, if you ever did drink, you won't ever drive."

Hiccup nodded. "Don't worry. Last weekend puking my insides out was enough. And this-"

Kyle entered the room again, and handed Mr. Vast a large Styrofoam cup of water, and sat a large mug with a straw down on Hiccup's hospital tray. "Anything else I can get for you?"

Mr. Vast shook his head and sent him away.

"So, why am I in a sling?" Hiccup asked.

"Well-you've got thirty stitches up your arm. Best to keep it somewhat immobile."

"Thirty! How bad did I cut it open?"

"Pretty good," Mr. Vast said to him again. "Get some rest. Hopefully you'll spring free from this place before noon."

 **I wrote this in one sitting, and I am exhausted. I really had the itch to do some typing tonight, and getting some thoughts down. Not my best work, but I feel better and can sleep better knowing I tried.**

 **Have a good evening, guys!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I've already gotten reviews asking me to continue with this story! I am really excited about this! Thank you to those that have reviewed. I hope I do not disappoint you!**

 **Also, in case anyone missed them, I wrote a few little stories about Eret. Those I was really excited about, and sadly I didn't get feedback on those. If you guys check them out please let me know!**

 **Lets see where this one goes!**

 **...**

Hiccup was ready to be discharged...four hours ago. It was Monday. He had missed school. This was the day he had been looking forward to all last week! Being ungrounded, being able to go back to the woods to sketch and to have his freedom! But, no, he was still lying in his hospital bed waiting for his father to show up from work to sign the papers to let him go home.

He glanced at his watch. It was 3:30. Had he not cut his arm, he would have been in the woods already. Sighing, he turned back to the television. At this point he was barely watching it. He was fighting sleep at this point, being stubborn. In his hands he held his sketch pad. Glancing down, he realized he needed to shade more of his drawing of the IV pole.

"Do you need anything?"

Hiccup turned to his left and saw his day nurse had snuck in without him hearing her. He turned to his drawing, and looked back.

"Do you happen to know where I can get a red pen at?"

The middle-aged woman smiled kindly, and reached into one of her pockets and handed it to him.

"If I don't see you before I get out of here, can I leave it on the tray for you?" Hiccup asked.

"There's plenty at the front desk," she replied. "Keep it."

"Thank you," he said quietly. With that she took her leave, and he uncapped the pen and started filling in the IV bag in red.

Sketching for a few more minutes, he felt his eyes flutter. Knowing that he was going to succumb to sleep, he placed his sketch at the foot of the bed and tipped his head back against the pillows. It wasn't moments later he had fallen asleep.

...

Hiccup woke up when he heard his door open slightly, but he was not ready to wake up. He felt like he barely had his eyes closed. Glancing at the side table, the small alarm clock read 4:15. He was correct. He'd barely had his eyes closed for half an hour. He turned his head towards the door to see who had entered. Assuming it was his discharge nurse popping in to see if his dad had shown up yet, he barely moved. But then he noticed the person was not his discharge nurse at all. It was Astrid.

Feeling slightly started, he felt his face turn rather red. He was thankful the room was dim just then. And, that his father had brought him some sweat pants and a t-shirt to relax in verses the provided hospital gown. He didn't know what to do with her standing there. He gently smiled at her.

She smiled back gently. She was also dressed down. Not her usual fashion. Usually she was dressed pretty well. Rarely was she ever in a pair of jogging pants or a t-shirt. Today, she was comfortably dressed.

"Hi," she said, nervousness showed in her voice.

Hiccup pushed himself up in his bed a little bit, and panic overtook him again when he realized he was still half lying down in his bed. He quickly sat up and tried to swing his legs over the side, but that made him dizzy. Instead, he was holding himself up with his good arm to face her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'mmmmm-okay," she said. "I'm still pretty sore from the whiplash-"

It was then that Hiccup noticed that her arms and face had little blemishes on them. He did not point this out to her. He knew it had to have been from her coming into contact with the airbag when it deployed.

"Were you in school today?" Hiccup asked after a moment of silence. This was very awkward. Typically they would have never talked to each other. They ran around with different crowds in school. She was always with her volleyball team friends, or her track friends. Never with the artsy- quiet-type kids at school.

"I was-but I couldn't run track."

Hiccup noticed she was shifting her weight from one foot to the next, and she had her arms wrapped around herself. He could tell she was equally as nervous as he was.

"Here," he said to her gently. He moved his sketchbook, and then blushed again. He looked around for the chair his father had been seated in over the weekend, but there wasn't a chair. He swallowed. "Would-you want to sit down?"

With little hesitation she sat down in the middle of his bed, and he curled his legs up towards himself, and crossed them. He had to correct himself from leaning back against his bed.

"You can lay back," she said to him. "I know I woke you up. I'm sorry."

"I'll be okay," Hiccup said to her. "I'm just-" He paused and looked away from her for a moment. He swallowed.

"Tired?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. He felt his cheeks go red again. "The transfusion-" He didn't want to tell her about the blood transfusion he had. It was embarrassing enough for him that he hadn't been careful enough pulling his arm out of the window when he unlocked her door.

"Did you have an IV in your hand?" she asked him quietly. She was eyeing his left arm. He had three bandages over the spots where his IVs had been in place.

He felt himself go red again. He was getting warmer with each passing moment. "Y-yeah. Procedure when you are in the hospital to get a bag of saline pumped into you-" He could have slapped himself the way he said it.

She smile and gave a small giggle. "I can tell you are as nervous as I am."

"What? How can you tell?"

"As kids you would always use humor when you were nervous."

"I do?" Hiccup asked.

She nodded. She still had an arm around herself, but just one. She was easing up. Hiccup always knew this was when she was nervous. He could tell when they were about to take a test. She never showed her fear on her face, but she always crossed her arms when she was bent over her desk during a test. He wouldn't tell her this however. Not now.

"Was Snotlout in school today?" he asked her.

"Actually, he was. I've been told that his dad pulled him from the track team. He has a court date next week."

"Do you have to be there?" Hiccup asked her.

She nodded. "My parents want to press charges. Me, it could have been worse." She slapped herself in the face suddenly. "Hiccup, I am so sorry!"

He reached up to her and put his hand over her's for a second. She stopped trying to apologize, and she looked up at him.

"I'm fine. I'm just glad you are okay." He removed his hand quickly.

He felt her eyes on him for a moment. Instead, he was staring at her wrist. He then realized it was in a brace.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"The airbag. I've already had an injury there, but the airbag seemed to agitate it more. Usually volleyball season flares it up again."

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said to her. "The whole thing must be hard on you."

"I don't exactly want to go to court, but it's something my parents feel we need to do. Especially with how Snotlout's been acting. I don't exactly want to make an example out of him, but my dad-he doesn't want to see more kids acting like that. Instead of getting a slap on the wrist, Snotlout will get more."

"Why is your dad so concerned though?" Hiccup asked.

"My dad's one of the head detectives in town."

"Oh," Hiccup said. "I was at his party last weekend. I kind of stumbled there by mistake-"

"Ruff told me she saw you there-"

"Hofferson?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh, I'm sure she told you things I did there that I don't even remember doing!" Hiccup said. "That's why I was home all day Saturday. I was grounded."

"To be honest, Hiccup, I am glad you were there that night. If I had woken up and didn't see a familiar face in front of me...I probably would have been even more nervous than I already was."

Hiccup gave her a small smile. "I'm glad I was able to be there for you."

Astrid sighed. "So, exactly what did you do to your arm when you were trying to get my door open?"

Hiccup gave a small chuckle. She was trying to change the subject. Her cheeks had gone red just slightly.

"Well..."...

"You had a blood transfusion!" Astrid cried.

Hiccup's face grew a little redder, and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I'm kinda small, so any little bit of blood I lose probably puts me more at risk of needing one."

"How many stitches did you get?"

"Thirty-four according to my dad. It's itching like crazy in this cast too!"

"Why do you have a cast on if you didn't break your arm?"

"I think it keeps me from messing with it. I'm not-really sure honestly. But, I have been told I'll probably be in a sling for another two weeks."

Hiccup looked down at his watch. It was nearing 6 o'clock. Where was his father at?

He reached for his cell phone real quick to see if he had any missed calls or text messages. Nothing. He decided he had better text his father to see where he was at.

"I'm sorry if I am being rude," Hiccup said to her. "I was told around eleven this morning I could be discharged. But, I have been waiting for my dad to get off work."

"It's okay," Astrid said to him. "I don't mind."

Hiccup was having a slightly harder time texting his father. He felt lopsided as he typed the text out. The sling was giving him more of a handicap than he had expected. He turned the volume up on the phone and sat it down beside him. He realized then he needed to stretch his legs. He decided to dangle his legs over the edge of the bed. He turned to Astrid, and he caught her staring at his numb on his leg. He instantly turned red.

"Have you heard the story about that?" he asked her, and he started covering it up with a blanket.

"What? No-yes-I mean-"

He laughed. "It's okay to ask questions about it, Astrid."

She looked up at him and sighed. "Actually-everyone I've talked to always tells me they never really know what happened to your leg-"

Hiccup choked on his drink of water he was taking. He coughed hard, and barely had his breath when he said, "You and your friends have talked about it?!"

Her face suddenly went red again. They were really exchanging embarrassing moments today.

"Well, it's nice to know my name does slip from the A crowd's mouths every once in a while," Hiccup said sarcastically. He saw Astrid was biting the inside of her mouth now, and she had wrapped her arms around herself. "It's okay. I don't mind."

"Well-last year you actually had your leg when we went on break. When you came back this year-it was gone-and you had crutches before-"

"Before I was fit for my prosthetic?" Hiccup asked. "It's something I haven't really talked about much. My best friend Fish doesn't even know the full story. He just knows I spent a week in the hospital last summer."

He could tell Astrid was anxious to hear this story. Taking in a deep breath, he readied himself.

"I actually fell off of the roof of my house one night. When I did, I landed right on this leg. My dad heard me fall and came running outside. The hospital said it was shattered and that they wanted to operate on it right away. When they got inside, everything was pretty much in splinters. They attempted to fix it, but the damage was too far gone. My dad was told I probably wouldn't be able to walk without crutches. Basically, he left it up to me to decide. I was the one that had to live with it if the surgery didn't go as planned. They said I would have months in a cast and physical therapy if I decided to keep it. If I didn't, I just needed to learn to walk with my prosthetic once it was fit."

"So, you chose to have it gone?" Astrid said.

"I did," said Hiccup. "Truth is, I am not meant to be stuck in a house, or a room for that matter." He looked around himself. "I want to be out in the woods with nature. I knew being on crutches and going through all that physical therapy I would have lost my trips into the woods. It's the place I go to when I want to escape-which-" He laughed, and put his hand behind his head in embarrassment- "Is a lot of the time."

"You don't like your home life?" Astrid asked.

"Dad is a workaholic. Since my mom died when I was little, I've basically learned to entertain myself. For Christmas my dad always asked what I wanted. It was either art classes, drawing classes, pottery-I even tried a welding class this past summer. I actually made a demo prosthetic for my leg then!"

Hiccup was surprised at how much he was telling her. Why was he telling her his deepest, darkest secrets? He didn't know. Being out of the school and away from their friends helped. They weren't under pressure of impacting their image or what their friends really thought. They could be-themselves.

Hiccup looked back down at his watch. It was approaching 6:30. Not that he minded talking to Astrid, but he wanted to know where is father was at.

Just then, his doctor came into the room. The woman was as old as the dinosaurs. But, she was a pretty great doctor. She waved at both of them in acknowledgment.

"Hi, Dr. Gothi," Hiccup said to her.

They watched her put her cane down against the bed, and motioned for him to scoot closer towards her. Just as she was handing him a container of medication and a bottle of water from her pocket, another man approached the room, but it was not his father. It was her sign language interpreter. She signed something to him and he turned to Hiccup.

"She is wanting to know where your father is at."

Hiccup swallowed his pills and shrugged at her. "I was assuming he would be here an hour ago honestly." He then turned to Astrid. "I'm not keeping you here, am I?"

She shook her head. "No, I told my dad I would text them when I was ready to leave. In fact, I better check my phone now." She pulled her phone out of her hooded sweatshirt pocket to check her text messages.

"Dr. Gothi said if he isn't here before 7:30, no one will be able to discharge you," said the interpreter.

"What?!" Hiccup cried. He reached for his phone to look and see if he had missed it ding. His father had not messaged him back yet at all.

"We have tried calling him but it goes right to voicemail," said the interpreter.

Hiccup sighed in frustration. "Why would I have to stay here another night?"

"It's hospital rules. They never discharge someone after visiting hours are over."

Astrid looked at her clock on her phone. "Visiting hours are almost up!"

Dr. Gothi put her hand up to her and turned to her interpreter.

"Dr. Gothi said that unless you need to leave, she will put a note in Hiccup's file that you are free to stay here as long as needed."

Astrid blushed.

"You'd be doing me a favor," Hiccup said to her. He sighed and looked at his phone again. He decided to try his father again by calling him. They were right. It was going right to voicemail. "If he shows up after visiting hours, I can't leave?"

Dr. Gothi shook her head.

"Only those visitors with a special pass are allowed to leave and enter the hospital after visiting hours. Patients are only discharged between 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m."

Hiccup let a big breath out. "I might as well get comfortable." He turned to Astrid. "If you need to leave, please do not feel obligated to stay. I'm sure you've missed your dinner."

Astrid looked down at her phone. "I'm fine," she replied.

"If your father shows up before 7:30 please page the nurse and we will finalize you discharge." With that Dr. Gothi and her interpreter left the room.

"Astrid, you really don't have to stay. I'm sure you are hungry," Hiccup said. Just then someone entered the room, bringing in a tray of hospital food.

"Would you like a slice of bread or a roll with your meal?" the young girl asked him.

"Uhhhh-" Hiccup sighed. He knew he was doomed to be at the hospital another night. "The roll, please." She left a baggie containing the roll and left them alone.

Hiccup slid his cart away from the bed and readjusted himself into a sitting position. He checked his watch again, and looked at Astrid. "I'm sorry, but I need to go use the bathroom."

"Okay," she said to him. When he didn't move for a moment, he put his head down. "This is embarrassing-but would you mind-uh, grab-grabbing that from over there?"

Across the room was his prosthetic. He could hobble to the bathroom, but that would have just made him feel far worse than he currently felt. He put his head down and covered his face with his hand to hide his embarrassment.

...

 **Well, there's my update, guys! I really enjoyed writing this piece. Even though it's a lot of conversation back and forth, I feel like it came out super cute!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was nine in the evening, and Astrid had not left the hospital yet. She and Hiccup were up playing a card game of War. They had talked a little bit more, but nothing as deep as they had been. They had mainly been talking about homework, the school lunches, and Astrid's volleyball career.

All the while, Hiccup kept looking at his phone, half expecting to hear from his father. No text had come. Inside, he felt a little forgotten. Which, he expected that a little bit. It wasn't anything new. But, it was something Hiccup never just got "used to."

Hiccup yawned suddenly just as Astrid's card pile was growing. He had been getting tired but it was really creeping up on him now.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go ahead and head home?" Astrid asked him.

"As long as your parents don't mind you are here, I don't," he replied. "It's been really nice having some company."

Astrid smiled. "It's been nice talking with you and getting to know you better."

Hiccup's king of hearts trumped over Astrid's five of spades. He placed it into his pile and looked at her. "Astrid, is there a reason why you came by earlier?"

Astrid paused and looked up at him from where she laid across the bed. "Oh, I didn't know I needed a reason-"

"No-no, please don't be offended. It's been really enjoyable having you here with me," Hiccup said. "But, honestly you were the last person I had expected to walk into my hospital room. Well, you and Snotlout to be quiet honest."

"Out of the two of us, who would you have expected the least?" Astrid said with a sly grin.

Hiccup just looked at her blankly. "Honestly, you."

"Are you serious?" Astrid asked him, giving him a little grin.

"I'm being dead serious, Astrid," he replied. "When I fell off the roof and was on crutches, Snotlout actually would drive by the house and yell at me. I was getting called 'one-legged freak,' and 'tripod'-"

"Tripod?" Astrid asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Hiccup said. "But, really, Astrid. As much as I have enjoyed spending time with you, you really were the last person I would have expected to see here in my room."

Astrid sighed and looked away for a moment. She sat up in the bed and started to make a move as though she was going to leave. Hiccup actually found himself dropping his cards and grabbing her arm to stop her. She turned and looked at him when his hand touched her, but she didn't pull away. Actually, it was then that Hiccup realized she was not upset. She seemed a little detached for a moment.

"To be honest, Hiccup. When I was in that accident, I was driving to my grandmother's house. She had baked me a chocolate cake for my birthday."

"Happy Birthday, Astrid-"

"No-no." She sighed annoyingly. "My birthday was three months ago. She has dementia."

"I'm really sorry to hear that."

"Anyways, I was already having a hard time going there to pick up this large chocolate cake she made. My aunt who takes care of her had to babysit her while she made this cake for me. To be honest I wasn't even sure she remembered how to make her famous chocolate cake-" Astrid stopped her voice from quivering. "When I woke up, you were there. And, you held my hand just for a moment to make sure I was okay. You didn't know me from Eve, not like that. But, that feeling didn't leave me. Even when I was in the ambulance and I was alone-"

"I'm sorry-"

"-I was alone and while I was terrified in that ambulance, I thought of you. I was so confused when you left and then a second ambulance showed up. I thought it was for Snotlout, but instead, it was for you. I heard you'd passed out. I heard your father screaming for help from one of my responding paramedics. And-I felt helpless."

Hiccup tilted his head at her. He was still confused as to where she was going with this.

"I felt helpless because I couldn't help the person that helped keep me calm in my darkest moment. When I was in the hospital, I asked about you. No one would give me an answer. Yesterday I wanted to call the hospital and ask about you, but I didn't know who I would talk to or where it would lead up to. And I didn't just want to call you on the phone. I-I had to see you myself-"

"So-what did you do today?" Hiccup asked. "How did you know I was still here?"

"I decided to call and ask for your room number. They told me, and I asked my dad to drive me here. He asked me why, and I told him it was something I felt I needed to do."

"But what did you need to do?" Hiccup asked.

"I-I wanted to see how you were, and know what happened to you. Hiccup, honestly, if you hadn't gotten hurt, I wanted you riding with me to the hospital. It was a lonely, scary ride. You brought me some comfort-and I was hoping I could help you."

Hiccup leaned back against his pillows. He swallowed and looked away for a moment. "I'm glad I was able to help you."

"You did," she said. "You really did."

"Would it be okay of me to say-you've helped me?"

She smiled gently and nodded. "I'm glad."

He nodded in reply, then drew his legs up towards himself and sighed. Out of nervousness, he looked at his phone, and saw that his father still had not responded to any text messages.

"Do you think your dad's okay?" Astrid asked him quietly.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his calf, the calf that was half there. Astrid was trying to comfort him. And it was working. He smiled back at her gently and nodded. He was glad she wasn't afraid of his missing limb. He felt a weak, gentle smile come to his face.

"I'm sure my dad's just lost track of time."

"It's a lot of time he's lost track of, Hiccup," Astrid said to him.

"I know. But, trust me, this isn't anything new."

She nodded at him, then heard her phone go off in her pouch. She reached inside and checked it and sighed. "I have to go. My dad's outside in the car waiting on me."

Hiccup felt a little disappointed, but knew it was getting late and Astrid needed to get home. Especially if she was planning on going to school the following day.

"Here," she said holding both hands out. In one was her phone, and she had opened her screen to her contacts. She had typed his name into it. "Put your number in for me. I will text you."

He smiled, and it was probably the biggest smile he'd had in weeks. He traded her phones, and he felt their fingertips touch just slightly. They placed their contact number into each other's phones and made the exchange again. He blushed slightly at the touch of her hand on his again.

"Thank you again for keeping me company," Hiccup said to her as she stood up from the bed. He could tell she was stiff from sitting too long.

"My pleasure," she said to him. Before he realized it, she had leaned down, kissed his cheek and was out of the room before he could turn and watch her walk away and down the hallway.

He had really just gotten a kiss on the cheek from Astrid.

...

At eleven Hiccup's nurse came by to take his vitals. The shift had just changed, and this nurse was surprised to see him still there.

"I thought you would have been gone by now," she replied to him while she took his blood pressure. "I thought they were discharging you?"

Hiccup sighed. "Unfortunately this is not the case, Abigail."

She flipped through his chart making notes as she finished his vitals. "Luck just not on your side today?"

Hiccup shook his head gently and sighed. "How are my vitals?"

"Your blood pressure is slightly elevated, but nothing to worry about," she told him. "I'm actually surprised they didn't want to put another IV in you-"

Hiccup's heart raced suddenly. "Please tell me they won't come in here and do that again! I was glad I was unconscious when they did these last two."

"If they didn't do it three hours ago, I don't think they will do it again. So, don't worry yourself all night about it."

"I'll try not to," said Hiccup. He slumped down into his pillows a little bit.

"Is there anything I can get you before I let you be for a few hours?" Abigail asked him.

Hiccup shook his head. "I'll survive the evening."

"How about I fill up your thermos?"

Hiccup chuckled. She knew he'd need something to drink in the middle of the night. "Thank you."

...

Hiccup woke up when the breakfast lady brought in his cold hospital oatmeal. She sat it on his tray and walked out without a word to him. He looked at the clock, and saw it was just 6 a.m. He grumbled, and settled himself back into his pillows to try to get more sleep. While he tried, he was hearing people up and down the hallways. There was no use. He was up for a little while at the very least.

He reached for his phone and unlocked it. He noticed he had three unread messages in his text box. He clicked on it, and realized two were from Astrid. He checked those first.

11:21 PM - YOU BETTER GET SOME SLEEP. ITS GETTIN LATE.

11:51 PM - LOOKS LIKE I LOST YA. SWEET DREAMS

Hiccup smiled to himself. Then, he looked at the last unread message. It wasn't from his dad. It was from Fish.

5:45 AM - DUDE, ARE YOU COMING TO SCHOOL TODAY?

Hiccup sighed and dropped his phone onto his chest. Fish hadn't even been by to see him, and had barely checked on him the last three days. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Instead of digging into his oatmeal, he reached for his sketch pad, pulled out his red ink pen and stuck it in between his teeth. He picked up his phone and responded to Astrid and Fish.

6:12 AM - GOOD MORNING, MILADY. I HOPE YOU SLEPT WELL.

6:13 AM - DOESN"T LOOK LIKE IT FISH. SORRY.

He drew his sketch pad closer, and began to color in the red on his IV pole again. Reaching under his pillows, he pulled out a piece of licorice.

...

Hiccup was sketching when he heard what he thought was Abigail coming into his room for the first time since the evening before. When he turned to look, it was his father.

"Hey, son," he said gently.

Hiccup stiffened his jaw, and turned back to his drawing.

"You ready to get out of here?" his father asked him.

Hiccup ignored his father for a moment. He closed his sketch pad up and threw the pen down with it. He then turned to his father.

"Where were you at last night?" Hiccup asked him.

"I was working," said his father.

"Working so hard you couldn't text me back ALL day?" Hiccup asked him.

"Now-"

"No, Dad, no lecture for me this time!" Hiccup said to him. "I've made my mistakes, and I will continue to make them. We all do. But I called and text, the hospital called, and you didn't even respond to anything. You told me at ELEVEN yesterday morning you'd be by after work to get me. When I text you and told you if I wasn't signed out of here by A PARENT at 7:30 I was stuck here another night. NO call, NO text, NOTHING!" Hiccup was not screaming at his father but he made sure his tone was noted. "I get it if you were stuck in traffic, or had a deadline. I would have still been disappointed, but some kind of response would have been nice."

Hiccup turned away from his father and looked at the time. It was just after eight. Turning back to his dad, he said, "Can we please go home?"

Mr. Vast hesitated a moment, realizing he had messed up, but nodded. "I'll go find the nurse."

Hiccup reached over and pressed the "call" button on his bed. "No need. They will come to us."

...

Hiccup had begged his father to drop him off at the school on his way into work. But, his father told him no.

"One more day home is not going to kill you," he said.

"Dad, I've been cooped up for the last FOUR and a HALF days!" Hiccup breathed. "I'd really like to get back to school."

"One more day home. After that, your freedom is yours. I'd prefer you stay home and get some more rest. The nurses waking you up every few hours does not give you enough."

"Dad, I'm not made of glass, okay?"

"I know this, Hiccup. Believe me, I know. You are just clumbsy-"

"Dad-"

"I'd just feel better if you didn't go to school today."

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his temples with his left hand. He was getting a headache. "Is there anything I need to be taking since I am out of the hospital?"

"Just some antibiotics for your arm. They want you to follow up with Dr. Gothi on Friday. Make sure your arm is healing okay and isn't infected. Probably have a blood test-"

Hiccup growled lowly.

"-since you had the blood transfusion."

They pulled up to the house, and Hiccup immediately jumped out of the car as soon as it came to a stop.

"I'll be okay," Hiccup said to his dad. He gathered up his things as best as he could and hopped out of the car. He leaned back into the car to look at his dad. "Get to work."

"Hiccup, I-"

"Tell Katherine I said hello," Hiccp replied, and he shut the door and went on inside.

...

Hiccup woke up with an upset stomach. It was what he deserved for not eating anything but licorice when he woke up. Rolling over the old cat, he grabbed his crutch that leaned on the wall beside his bed and headed towards the kitchen. He decided he would make himself some toast.

As the toast browned, he felt his pocket vibrate. Astrid had text him.

3:18 PM - WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD. I'VE GOT A LARGE SLICE OF CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH YOUR NAME ON IT.

His eye brows went lopsided.

3:19 PM - AS IN YOUR GRANDMA'S CHOCO CAKE?

It was then that he heard a knock at the front door that startled him. He hurried over to the front door, and through the curtain he could see Astrid was standing on his porch.

"Surprising me again," Hiccup said to her, letting her inside. "Again, was not expecting you in my house."

She glared at him for a moment, and walked past him so that he could close the door. He felt her eyeing him for a moment. He knew it was because she hadn't seen him on a crutch.

"You okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replied to her. Then, he smelled something burning. "The toast!"

He rushed to the kitchen and popped the toast up. The slice was completely chard. He growled. "So much for lunch."

"You haven't eaten yet?" Astrid asked him.

"Actually, outside of a few pieces of licorice at the hospital, no."

"You're kidding!" she said. "I'd be famished."

He laughed at her, and gestured to himself. "I don't exactly need a whole lot to eat."

"Oh, you are calling me fat now, are you?"

His face paled. "Astrid-I-"

"She laughed at him. "Well, this slice of cake can wait. How about we go get you something to eat?"

"Like-leave the house?" he said.

"Yeah! Where would you like to go?"

"You drove here?"

"My parents let me borrow the car," she said, pulling the keys out of her hoodie pocket. Again, he was surprised to see her in a hooded sweatshirt.

For a brief moment, he felt hopeful, but that feeling diminished and he sighed.

"It's probably best if I stay home," he said. He turned back to the toaster, and popped down another slice of toast.

He could sense he was shutting down on her for some reason. "I'm sorry, Astrid. It's probably my lack of a decent meal and sleep that's making me less adventurous."

"I was going to say. The way you talked last night, you were always on an adventure."

He laughed to himself. "The woods-"

"Yes," she said. She leaned against the counter where he stood. He popped the toast up and began putting butter on it's surface. For a moment they both watched the butter melt into the heated surface. Then, Hiccup took a bite of the toast. "No jelly?"

He shook his head. "Not when my stomach feels as though it's going to cave in."

He felt his eyes on her as he hobbled over to the table, toast in his mouth, trying to keep his balance with his crutch with his other arm in a sling. Taking a seat, he pulled the toast out of his mouth, taking a small bite of it.

"I'm a pretty pathetic case today," he replied to her. His face was turning a little red.

"Not pathetic," she said to him, still leaning against the counter. "I can't quite figure you out."

Swallowing his last piece of toast, he tilted his eyes sideways. "Can't figure me out-"

"Yes," she said. She took a seat at the table across from him. "You aren't like other boys at our school-"

"Well, maybe-you haven't met the right one," he said with a chuckle. Then he went red again and slapped himself in the face. "That came off really arrogant. I'm sorry."

"No, you are probably right."

"No, Astrid. I mean-" he sighed and let his head drop. He waited a moment before he spoke. "I'm sorry. To be honest, you make me a little nervous-not a bad nervous but-I mean-"

"Say what you mean, Hiccup. Don't sugar coat it."

He looked up at her and saw she had her arms around herself again. He was making her uncomfortable now, he could tell.

"I'm sorry, Astrid. It's just that-" He sighed again and braved himself to say what he wanted to say. "I don't want to make it weird-"

She laughed and looked at him. "You are making it weird!"

He smiled slightly and bit the inside of his lip. "I don't know what you are looking for, if you are looking for anything at all. I enjoy your company. And, we can keep it like this for now if you would like-or even forever if that's how you might feel." He smiled gently and rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly, I don't even know if you have a boyfriend."

"Well, what do you think?" she asked him.

"Think?"

"Do you think I have a boyfriend?" she asked him.

He was silent for a moment, trying to choose his words very carefully. "No, I don't."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, one, if you did have a boyfriend, he would not approve of you being here, alone in my house with me-"

"I'm my own person, I can do as I please-"

"And two, if you did have a boyfriend I don't think you would have kissed my cheek last night."

Her face went as red as his did when he mentioned it.

"And Astrid, if you do have a boyfriend, I respect that. And we can remain friends."

She smiled at him gently, then slid her hand over across the table. She reached over and tucked her hand under his and squeezed it gently.

"That right there is one reason why you aren't like the other boys at our school," she said.

 **What do you guys think? Any thoughts, feelings? I had actually tried to get this one out for you guys last night but I knew I had to get to work this morning. Any suggestions on where you would like to see this go? I am open to them. I have one idea in my head as to what I want them to experience together later (nothing graphic or dirty) but I want to hold off on that for right now.**

 **Thanks guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hiccup, can I ask you a personal question?" Astrid said suddenly. She had her back to him. She had been pouring them both a glass of tea from the pitcher.

He looked up at her from his seat at the table. His curiosity peeked. "Of course."

"You don't have to answer me if you don't want to," she said.

"No, Astrid, go ahead and ask me," he said.

She turned back around and sat a glass in front of him on the table, and then took her seat again across from him. "Why are you still using a crutch when you have your prosthetic?"

This was not a question he was prepared for. But, he admitted to himself, she was comfortable enough to ask. She also didn't ask it in a teasing or downgrading matter. It was a ligament curiosity she did have.

"Well, I don't always want to use the prosthetic. Some days my leg hurts worse than others. Today is not one of those days."

She looked at him, tilting her head back in though.

"If I had known you were coming over I would have reattached it," he said with a chuckle. "Same as when you showed up in my hospital room. I would have attached it. When I am just lying around the house, it's more convenient to just slip it off and grab my crutch. Or, I hobble around."

She nodded gently. "I was just wondering. I wasn't expecting to see you without it on. Well, I mean-of course in the hospital I didn't expect you to have it on."

"I wish more people would ask me about it than just stare," he admitted. "I understand, people get curious and try to see. I think I would too if I didn't understand. But, I really don't mind talking about it if asked."

"That's why no one really knew what happened to you," said Astrid. "They never asked." She grew quiet for a moment. "I was staring at it yesterday and you caught me. I am sorry."

"Honestly, you were pretty close to me and I thought it would make you uncomfortable. Then, you touched my leg. It was something I wasn't expecting honestly."

"Was that okay?" she asked, her voice suddenly getting higher.

"Yes!" he said to her. He took a drink of his tea. "It told me you weren't afraid of it. High schoolers can be pretty cruel. Something that isn't what is 'normal' in their eyes they just use it as a reason to make the situation even worse."

Astrid nodded. "You surprise me a little bit."

"I do?" Hiccup asked her.

"You don't think like a lot of the people we go to school with. You think-critically." She paused for a moment. "What do you want to do when you get out of high school?"

Hiccup looked at her. She was leaning against her hand that rested on the table. She seemed so relaxed now. This surprised him, just a little.

"What do I want to do?" he asked.

"Yeah! I've always thought about being a physical trainer. Or a physical therapist-"

"You like dealing with athletics," said Hiccup.

"I do," she said. "My parents think I should look into being a nurse, or a health teacher. Honestly, the jobs just seem a little too bland for me."

"Tell that to the nurses that helped me in the ER," Hiccup said to her. "Especially when I busted my leg all up. I was a pretty big mess."

Astrid took a sip of her tea. She didn't ask anymore about the subject, which he was relieved. Truth be told, his loss of limb incident still gave him nightmares. He'd sometimes sleep at night reliving the moment he fell and the pain he had.

"So, what do you want to do?" Astrid asked him. "Something involving art? Something with nature? What about working for the county wildlife division?"

Hiccup's eyebrows went up. She was really chipper. He was still getting used to her, and here it seemed she was getting even more comfortable around him.

"Well," she asked him. She drew back a little. "Or, we can talk about something else if you don't want to-"

"No, no," he said to her, waving his hand at her to shove off her sudden insecurity. "I've given it some thought, but I thought I might want to become en engineer."

"An engineer?" Astrid asked. "What makes you think about that?"

"Well, when I took that welding class, we were asked to create our own project. We had to put it down on paper, make blue prints-everything!" Hiccup said. He was suddenly getting excited. He reached down for his crutch from the floor, and stood up. "Come with me, let me show you."

He led her down the hallways to his bedroom. Turning right, he went to his closet and started looking through his shelves. "It's in here somewhere-"

The old Toothless cat had been curled up on the end of his bed. Suddenly, he heard him meow really loudly. When he turned back around to see why, he saw that he had jumped into Astrid's arms demanding some attention.

"That's funny," Hiccup said.

"What is?" Astrid asked, re-positioning himself in her arms and rubbing his chin.

"He usually won't let anyone touch him immediately. He must like you."

"I like cats," Astrid said. "Well, almost any animal, honestly."

Hiccup had turned back to dig through his closet. Finally, he found the sketch book he was looking for. "Here we go." Taking a seat on the bed, he filled through the pages. He patted the spot beside him for Astrid to sit, and she came, somewhat hesitantly.

"Here's the blueprints," Hiccup said. "I didn't just want a leg that blended in with myself. I wanted something with springs, something that could bend with me verses me bending with it."

She looked at the drawing as he flipped through them. They weren't stick figure drawings either. They were very detailed. She saw questions he had written himself, notes about the drawing. It was obvious he had put a lot of time into it.

"So where is this at?" she asked him.

"I made one before but it didn't fit very well. Since then I've sketched more off and on. There's a series two class offered this summer at the vocational school. I have been in contact with the instructor and we've talked about what I want to do. I have also talked to my doctor to see what I can do to attach to the unit to make it work."

"You might be onto something here," Astrid said. "You might be able to patent this!"

Hiccup chuckled. "I don't know. Maybe. It passed the time along this summer while I wasn't able to go into the woods so much. I had to let my nub heal."

He continued to flip through the pages. As he did, he felt Astrid lean against his shoulder and look, petting the cat as she did. He purred in her arms. It was in that moment he really did realize: He had a crush on her. He was absolutely adoring her. She was pretty, he had always known that. But, seeing her able to relax, be herself with him and vise versa, it was the best he remembered feeling about a girl.

...

8:13 PM - HICCUP ARE YOU STILL IN THE HOSPITAL?

It was then that Hiccup realized he'd never told Fish he had gotten out. He chuckled at the text, then put his phone to the side. He and Astrid were playing another game of War.

He felt bad he didn't have much to offer her in terms of dinner. They each had a can of soup, and Hiccup was fortunate enough to find a pack of cheddar cheese that hadn't expired yet, so he made some grilled cheese to dip into their soup. Then, they split the slice of cake she had brought over for him.

"Are you sure you don't need to reply to that?" Astrid asked him.

"It's fine," Hiccup said to her. "Fish might be my best friend, but I don't tell him my secrets."

"So, you haven't told him about us?" she asked him. Her four of clubs trumped his 3 of hearts, and she picked it up.

"Ummm-no, honestly." He paused for a moment, and took three of her hands. "Have you told anyone about us these last two days?"

"Ruff actually asked me this morning where I was at after school. Since I couldn't do track practice, and she knew I wasn't home."

"So what did you tell her?" Hiccup asked.

"I told her I had more than one friend. She wasn't it." She looked up at him and smiled gently.

"That was all you told her?" Hiccup asked.

"She doesn't need to know everything."

Hiccup nodded in an agreement.

After a few moments of silence, Astrid asked, "So, what time is your father due home?"

Hiccup went rigid when she mentioned it. His stomach swayed. He actually hoped his dad would stay gone for the evening.

"I honestly have no idea," Hiccup said. "I do know he's kinda of-dating his coworker."

"How did you find that out?" Astrid asked.

"My dad disappears a night or two at a time," Hiccup said. "Some days I am lucky to hear him come home and get in the shower before I leave for school. Some days, that's all I know of him. Other's, it's a text making sure I am home, or a phone call asking me to take the trash out before the trash man come in the morning." He waited a moment before he spoke again. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, honestly, I wasn't sure if you had any rules about girls in the house without him home," Astrid said. "I was waiting for you to kick me out a little while ago, but you never did."

Hiccup laughed a moment. "My dad never has set any rules like that. I don't think I ever gave him the chance to."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've never had a girl over at my house before today," he said.

Astrid nodded for a moment.

"What about you?" Hiccup asked. He suddenly had a thought that made a wave of anxiety hit him. "Wait-you parents know you are _here_ , right?"

She nodded. "Yes, they do. And they told me to just be home with the car before ten o'clock. And not to over stay my welcome."

"Your dad isn't the type of guy to pull a his gun out when a boy comes over, is he?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid shook her head. "No, he isn't like that. As long as you don't give him a reason not to respect you, or a reason to not trust you, he's a pretty level headed guy."

Hiccup nodded.

Suddenly, his phone started to ring. He looked over and saw it was Fish calling.

"You can answer that," she told him. "I don't mind."

"No, he can talk to me later on," Hiccup said. "Believe me, we aren't the attached to the hip kind of friends."

Astrid sighed. "Can I ask you something?"

Hiccup looked up at her again. She was full of questions. Nodding, she continued.

"Did it hurt when you cut your arm?"

Hiccup paused, trying to remember the events that surrounded last Saturday. He shook his head at her question. "I don't remember feeling it getting sliced. I was too focused and too worried about the driver in the car. When I realized it was you, once I was able to get the door open, my main focus became making sure you were okay. The look in your eyes told me you were scared. I remembered the fear for a brief moment when I broke my leg. I was sympathetic for you, because when that happened to me, I didn't have someone to comfort me. Sure, my dad was there, but for the most part, I had to go through the experience on my own and force myself not to wear my heart on my sleeve."

He was suddenly aware of the lump that was forming in his throat. Why was he willing to tell her these things? Of all people, one of the most popular girls in their class. It was then that he realized at how easy it was to talk to her.

"Hiccup, I know you don't remember it. But, I remember when you collapsed in your yard, the sound of your father's voice showed true terror. I knew he was already edgy over the situation at hand with me. You'd stepped in to try to help me, despite your father asking you to go back into the house. While I was nervous about myself, I remember hearing the fear in your father's voice worried about you."

Biting his lip, Hiccup sighed. "I don't hear that in his voice too often enough."

"He cares. I know he does. I think he has a hard time showing it."

Hiccup suddenly felt angry. He'd been holding onto his anger about his father all day. Forgiving his father for leaving him at the hospital for an extra day than he needed to be was proving to be difficult. His anger was suddenly turning into blame against Astrid. And that wasn't something that he wanted. He didn't want to be angry with her. The ball of fury subsided when he reminded himself it was not her fault.

She reached her hand across the table again to touch his, but he pretended he did not see it. Instead, he reached for his glass of tea, and took a large drink.

...

Astrid left around 9:30. This time, she left without giving him a kiss on the cheek. It was just a simple goodnight, a smile, and out the door she went. He leaned outside the doorway to make sure she was able to get into her car all right, and as she pulled away, he waved at her and she waved back to him. Sighing, he headed back into the house.

Inside, he put the used dishes in the dishwasher, and dumped the last of Astrid's tea down the sink before he placed her glass inside of it as well. He then reached for his own and took it back to the bedroom with him.

Her bringing up his father bothered him. He kept telling himself she was just making conversation. After all, he did tell her earlier it was okay to ask him questions: That he didn't mind. He never thought she would ask a question so deep that it would get under his skin. Again, he reminded himself it was not her fault.

Looking at the time, he decided to make sure he had clothes for school the next day. He reached into his closet and grabbed a thick zip up jacket, a clean pair of jeans, and a t-shirt to finalize the outfit. He laid them out on the chair just inside his door, then sat down in his bed to remove his prosthetic. He had decided to put it on during the remaining time Astrid had stayed. He didn't want to keep depending on the crutch to get him around the house while she was there.

He didn't respond to Fish's phone call or message. In fact, the only thing he did respond to was Astrid's text message saying she was home.

9:46 - I AM GLAD YOU MADE IT HOME SAFELY. GOODNIGHT.

Making sure he had everything he needed for school tomorrow, it dawned on him that he probably would be bringing home three days of homework tomorrow. He sighed at the thought of that. Thanks to his father, he would be working extra hard tomorrow night to get things done. He grabbed his crutch to get back around the room, and made sure all his school books and homework had been in order.

Wait, where was his doctor's excuse? Heading out to the kitchen, he found it with his antibiotics he had forgotten to take with dinner. He opened it harshly, grabbed the horse pill inside, and shoved it into his mouth and swallowed it whole, without any water to wash it down. He gagged slightly, but headed back to his room to put the excuse into his back pack.

Finally, he would let sleep overtake him.

...

Around midnight Hiccup heard the creek in the loose floor boards outside his bedroom. He didn't move when he heard it. He knew his father was home.

He could tell his father had come into his room as well, because he heard his toe hit the side of the chair as he stepped inside. Hiccup continued to pretend to be asleep. This was not the first time he had. He didn't want to speak to his father in the least bit, let alone give his father any excuse to keep him home another day. There really wasn't a reason to, though.

Suddenly, Hiccup felt a hand rest against his forehead. It took everything he had not to jump from the startled. He wanted his dad to think he was asleep, not try to start a conversation with him this last at night.

After a few seconds, his father removed his hand, pulled Hiccup's covers up over him a little bit more, and left the room.

That was strange, Hiccup thought to himself. After a few minutes of listening in for his father, he reached for his phone. There was an unread message from Astrid.

10:48 PM - I HOPE I AM NOT WAKING YOU UP. WOULD YOU WANT TO GO FOR A WALK TOMORROW? IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ABOVE FREEZING TOMORROW AFTER SCHOOL.

Hiccup sighed and did not respond. He was shutting down. He needed to shake this feeling he had. The slight anger he had with her for defending his father.

He knew his father cared. If he didn't, he wouldn't have come in to check on him. But, why was he looking for fever? He'd been fever free at the hospital. Then it dawned on him. His father was afraid he was going to get an infection in his arm. Or he would have a reaction to the blood transfusion. He vaguely remembered the doctor telling his father that they were concerned he would get an infection in his arm, and also that he could have a reaction of some sort to the transfusion.

Hiccup turned over a little bit in his bed to readjust himself. He felt a little softer towards his father suddenly. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

 **I'm not sure how well I like this chapter, but I WANT him to feel a little confused. I mean, who wasn't confused when they first started talking to their first crush when they were younger, or confused, or even a little hurt? Anyone not? I know I was completely blind to the fact someone even had a crush on me in high school for a LONG time. I also wanted Hiccup to feel a little anxed (is that even spelled correctly?!). But not too much.**

 **What did you think?**


	5. Chapter 5

Hiccup slung his backpack over his shoulder getting off of the bus the next morning. He squeezed his strap tightly, nervous about what the day was going to bring. He had five minutes to get to his first class to turn in his assignment that had been due two days prior. He hoped his teacher would accept it two days late.

Mrs. Johnson was a stern old bat of a woman. Monday a particularly long essay had been due. He rushed to class as fast as he could to talk to her before class began. He wanted to get the lecture over with.

"This assignment is late," she said to him as he tried to hand it to her. "That is immediate grounds for an F."

"Ma'am," Hiccup began. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his doctor's excuse. He felt his heart skip a beat as students were trickling into class, and their conversation could be heard by them. "I know it is late, but I have a doctor's excuse."

She snatched the paper from him and read it. She eyed him over her glasses. Although she was a very petite woman, she was intimidating and feisty.

"Very well," she said, snatching the paper from him. She pushed the doctor's note back into his hand. She made a note at the top of his paper which said DE. He assumed that meant doctor's excuse. "Take your seat."

He went to his chair and plopped down, feeling all eyes on him. It was bad enough people stared at the way he walked, but now they were staring at his arm. He couldn't wait for the thing to come off. Friday, he kept saying to himself. Just have to make it through all day today and all day tomorrow.

...

"There you are!" Fish cried at him as he entered the art room during his lunch time. Here, he was thankful for less people to stare at him. He saw the look on Fish's face when he saw him in the sling. "You made it out like you had a paper cut! You didn't say anything to me about being in a cast and a sling!"

Hiccup took his seat. "Well, I didn't want you to worry."

"And I didn't-but I should have!" Fish pulled out two packed lunches and slid one over to Hiccup. "Mom made chicken salad, your favorite."

Hiccup smiled slightly. He always did like Fish's mom. She made sure on the occasion to send a packed lunch with him to give to Hiccup.

Together they sat down to eat, and Hiccup looked around the room, and finally felt like he was able to breathe. As much as he was glad to be back on a semi-normal routine again, he didn't anticipate the extra stares he was getting from everyone. He felt self-conscious now with his bum leg too, when he typically did not.

A few minutes into eating lunch with Fish, he pulled out his sketch pad. He turned the pages and settled on a blank sheet. A fresh start he was excited for.

"There you are," he heard a voice behind him say. He turned around and it was Astrid. He wasn't expecting to see her in the art room.

"Astrid-I-"

"Now I know why I never see you in lunch most of the time," she replied. She had her lunch bag with her. "Do you guys mind if I have a seat with you?"

"Uh-" Hiccup turned to Fish, who was trying to fix the back of his hair as she sat down at their table. "Sure."

"I need to go to the vending machine for something to drink. Can I get you guys anything?"

"I'm good, thanks," said Fish.

She turned to look at Hiccup, and he shook his head at her. She gave him a warm smile and left the room.

"What was that about?" Fish asked him. "Since when is Astrid Hofferson wanting to sit with US!?"

"Uhhhhhh-"

"What is going on?" Fish demanded, grabbing Hiccup by his sleeve.

Hiccup growled in frustration. He sighed at him. "So, you know how I said I fell through the window at the house Saturday night?"

"You said you were trying to escape your grounding."

"Yeah-well. Remember the accident that Astrid was in, when Snoutlout and she played chicken."

"The one I told you I heard about?" Fish asked.

"Yeah, that one. Well, I-I cut myself on the glass out of her back window-"

"You were the guy Snotlout was talking about!" cried Fish. "Oh, man!"

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"He's been trying to figure out who the high schooler was that helped her! I didn't know that happened right in front of your house-"

"Wait-wait!" Hiccup said, putting his hand up to slow Fish down. "You said Snotlout was looking for-ME?"

"Yes! He was really ticked off because he knew someone witnessed the accident! He is worried that Astrid's father is going to put him in jail with that witness!"

"But I haven't been summoned to testify!" Hiccup said to him. He heard the panic in his own voice. He put his head down, covered it with one hand and was trying to think. He knew if Snotlout saw him he would be recognized. "I have eighth period with him! What am I going to do?!"

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked as she came into the room.

"Nothing-nothing," said Hiccup. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his antibiotics and a bottle of water. "Just trying to figure out what to sketch."

...

Hiccup stood outside his classroom and took in a breath. Watching his other classmates enter the room and hurrying past him made his anxiety even worse.

"Well, here we go," he said quietly to himself, and he walked into the classroom.

As he did, Mr. Brice saw him enter and immediately said to him, "No backpacks are allowed to be carried around the hallways during classes."

Hiccup stalled suddenly and felt all of his classmates' eyes on him. He gulped, and turned back to his teacher, and he pulled his doctor's note out of his back pocket and approached the teacher.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Brice, but-"

Mr. Brice put his hand up to stop Hiccup from speaking. He eyes the note, then studied Hiccup's cast and sling.

"How long are you in that thing for?" he asked. "Couple of weeks?"

"I-didn't break my arm. I'm hoping to get it off this Friday-"

"Very well, then" he said, folding the note and handing it back to Hiccup. "I don't think you could carry your books with one hand."

Hiccup shook his head. "No, sir."

The bell rang, and Hiccup went and took his usual seat. He could hear Snotlout on the other side of the room talking loudly. He felt his heart race faster suddenly.

"Okay, class, open your books to page 248," Mr. Brice said.

Taking in a very deep breath, Hiccup opened his book and tried his best to pay attention to the class. He barely looked up at his teacher from his book, in fear of making eye contact with anyone in the classroom. He was relieved when the dismissal bell rang. Finally, he could head home from school.

He walked out of the classroom and headed towards his locker. He kept most of his books due to having homework to make up this evening. Pulling his backpack over his shoulder again, he shut his locker, and started heading down the hallway towards the bus stop. Suddenly, he felt his shoulder being tugged on, and he was slammed against the lockers violently.

"You!" Snotlout was in his face. "I knew once I saw the witness, I would recognize him!"

Hiccup felt his eyes go big. Snotlout was right in his face and breathing so heavily that Hiccup could smell the pickles from his lunch on his breath.

"Snotlout-"

"Where have you been at?" he asked, pushing his finger into Hiccup's chest.

"I've been in the hospital-"

"The hospital!" Snotlout said. "For what?"

"Ehhhh-"

Snotlout looked down at Hiccup's feet, and then Hiccup saw the realization on Snotlout's face. "Tripod!"

Hiccup felt himself biting the inside of his cheek. There was no where to go.

"I know you saw the accident, and I know they know you saw it-"

"Who is they?" Hiccup asked.

"Shut up!" Snotlout cried, pushing him into the lockers again. "If you testify against me, I'll take your arm from you-"

Hiccup turned his face away from Snotlout.

"Did you hear me, toothpick?"

Hiccup let out a breath. He was trying to calm his racing heart.

Snotlout threw both of his fists above Hiccup over the lockers, and walked away.

Once Hiccup saw that Snotlout had gone down the hallways, he let out a breath. Shifting his bag back over his shoulder, he headed down the hallway to catch his bus.

He waited for ten minutes for his bus before he came to the conclusion that Snotlout had caused him to miss his bus. Hiccup pulled out his cell phone to text his father, then decided against it. His dad probably wouldn't have come to get him before the school locked it's doors anyways. Now what was he going to do?

Looking down as his phone, he saw that Astrid had text him again.

3:18 PM - YOU UP FOR THAT WALK?

It was now ten minutes later. He assumed she was at home already. How would he even meet her if he was stuck at the school?

3:29 - I WOULD, BUT I'VE MISSED MY BUS. MAYBE TOMORROW?

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he headed out the front door. The only option he felt he had was to walk home.

...

It was an hour walk but Hiccup made it home. His body ached slightly, he felt his hip throbbing, and his chest heaved from the cold air. Looking at his phone, he realized it was only thirty-seven degrees outside. At least he was warm from the walk for the most part.

He felt his face tingle as he came inside the house from the cold. He threw his back pack down on the floor of his room, and sat down on his bed. Taking in a few deep breaths, he undid his prosthetic leg and threw it over with shoes with some force. He was done with the contraption. For a moment, he wished he'd let the doctors attempt to fix his leg, and he would have attempted physical therapy.

He laid back on his bed, and his head collided with the cat. It growled at him annoyingly, and then walked over to his pillow and curled up in it after he made biscuits into it for a few seconds. His content annoyed Hiccup for a moment as well.

"I really need to take a chill pill," he said to himself. He hated feeling angry. He wanted this cloud of doom to go away. Ever since Astrid defended his father, he'd felt that way.

After he allowed his body to warm up, he went to the kitchen and made himself some hot chocolate. That was when a knock came to the door. He groaned at the thought of having company.

What if it was Snotlout? He waited in the kitchen a moment, hoping that maybe it was only the mail man trying to deliver a package. When the knock came again, he cringed. What should he do?

"Hiccup?" a voice from outside called.

Astrid.

He put his head down and headed towards the doorway on his crutch. Opening the door, he saw her standing there. She smelled like coconuts, at least that's what he thought she smelled like anyways. Something beachy-smelling. Maybe tanning solution? Although, she didn't look like she had been tanning.

"Hiccup?" she said to him again.

He snapped out of his thoughts. "Yeah, yeah, come on in, sorry."

She entered the house and started pulling off her scarf and winter coat. "i hope you don't mind, my dad dropped me off."

"Your dad?"

"Yeah, I had something to show you."

It was then that Hiccup noticed she was carrying her back pack. What was she doing? What was she up to?

Hiccup went over to the kitchen counter to move his hot chocolate to the table. "Would you like some?" he asked her.

"That sounds nice," she said.

Since he hadn't taken a drink out of his yet, he offered it to her instead. Then, heated himself up another cup of water so that he could put the mix in. While the mug was heating up, he hobbled over to the table on his crutch. Astrid turned and looked at him a quick second.

"I'm sorry, I came over unannounced again-"

He could see the concern and worry in her eyes. He chuckled and shook his head at her. "It's okay. I was just going to sit and work on homework honestly."

"I won't stay too long," she promised. The microwave went off, and Hiccup headed over to get his cup and hot chocolate packet. After mixing it into his water, he grabbed a bag of marshmallows and turned to look at Astrid. "Yeah, catch." He tossed them to her and she caught them and placed them on the table.

He crossed the kitchen and sat his mug on the table. Suddenly, he felt a pain radiate up his leg and to his hip. He shoved it off.

"So, what did you want to show me?" he asked her.

Inside her backpack was a small box, neatly wrapped in brown paper and tied up with some twine. She placed it on the table and pushed it to him. He let it sit there for a moment before he looked up at her.

"What is this?" he asked.

"I bought something for you," she said to him.

"Astrid, you didn't have to do that," he said to her. He didn't want to touch the package.

"No, I wanted to," she said to him. "Please."

Hesitating for a moment, he reached with his good hand and grabbed the box. She held the box down so that he could pull the ribbon. He was surprised how natural she was at helping him with his arm being tied up. He didn't feel like he was being babied or pitied. She knew he needed a little bit of help, but for the most part he was able to open the box on his own.

Removing the packaging revealed a white box. It almost looked like a box of chocolates, but he knew that it wasn't. His heart skipped a beat when he realized what she had bought for him. Opening the lid, inside was a box of charcoal sticks. He stared at them for a moment, completely in awe.

"Do you like it?" Astrid asked him.

He looked up at her and gave a little grin. "I do. These are actually my favorite brand. How did you know?"

She blushed. "I remember you having a box of them when we were kids." Her face fell slightly for a moment as a thought came to her mind.

"I did!" he said. "I remember sketching for hours with them, before-" Hiccup stopped. He remembered something, and he looked up at Astrid again, and he cold tell in her eyes she had remembered it too.

"You were on the play ground that day Snotlout grabbed them and threw the whole box into the mud puddle on recess."

She nodded. "I remember how disappointed you looked when you realized they were ruined."

"I never told my dad either. He had already been upset at how expensive they were-" Hiccup looked up at her. "Astrid, I can't accept these. They aren't cheap."

"No," she said to him gently. "Please." She reached out and put the lid back over them, and placed his hand over them, sandwiching it between the box and her own hand. Her look was sincere, and he smiled again at her.

"Thank you," he said gently.

"You are welcome."

...

Even though Astrid told Hiccup she wouldn't stay very long, she did. Again, his father hadn't come home right away, and he was itching to sketch with his charcoal. They sat on the bed together, talking. She watched him as he sketched. She was excited about seeing the new challenge he was facing-sketching a black cat.

"The shading I know is going to get me," he said, using his bum leg as an easel. He had to keep adjusting his position as he was feeling the stiffness take hold of his leg as time went on.

"I'm sure you can manage," she said to him. She remained quiet for a little while as she watched him sketch for a few moments. After a few moments, she asked him, "You don't care that I watch, right?"

"I don't hide my work from anyone but my dad," Hiccup said to her. "Just something I don't always like to share with him. Especially really sentimental pictures. Like, this one." He flipped the page to show the IV pole with the red bag. "When I was working on it, I didn't do it with him around."

"Your dad donated his blood to you, didn't he?" she asked.

Hiccup felt a small itch of anger in his veins. He knew it wasn't Astrid's fault for mentioning it. He had led that one on himself.

"He did," Hiccup said. "I was blessed with one of the rarer blood types in human-kind. They didn't have any in the blood bank. Dad's blood type matched though."

Astrid nodded and continued to watch Hiccup draw. He was using his middle finger to blend things as he went along.

Hiccup felt a surge of sudden pain flare up his leg and hip again. He jolted, and in turn his charcoal slipped on the paper. He was too paniced now to care honestly. Pushing the drawing aside, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and looked to see if he had anything from his dad.

Nothing.

"You okay?" Astrid asked him.

He nodded. "Astrid, if you don't mind, can you ask your dad to come after you?" He saw the hurt in her eyes suddenly and he shook his head at her. "It's nothing personal, I promise. I-" Pain surged again through his leg and hip. "I really need to start working on my homework I've missed."

"Yeah, sure," she said to him. "I'll help clean up the kitchen, too."

Help. Hiccup wasn't even sure right now if he could even stand long enough to clean up the dishes they dirties from making turkey sandwiches. He had to follow her out to the kitchen, though. Following behind her, he said a silent prayer to himself. He just hoped her dad would hurry and she would be gone before the worst of the pain set in.

...

 **I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! I hope you enjoy it!**


	6. Chapter 6

Astrid helped move the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Astrid, this isn't hard. I can manage," he replied.

"No, I helped make the mess, I will help clean up," she replied. "Dad will be over in about ten minutes. I have time."

Hiccup grimaced as he felt another wave of pain rush through his knee and hip. He leaned heavily on his crutch. If he had to rate the pain, it was about a six out of ten. He could handle the constant throb, but the on again off again was killing him. He had to sit down.

When the pain sheered through again, this time sooner than he had expected, he knew he was going to need to ask Astrid to help him.

"Can-can you do me a favor?" he asked her.

She turned around from closing the dish washer. "Of course." He heard her breath catch in her chest.

He was leaning heavily against the table at this point, supporting his head up with his hand. Even his temples were beginning to throb. And, he was beginning to fall into a cold sweat.

"Hiccup-" she said to him.

"Get into the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, please," he said to her. "You'll find a prescription with my name on it. It's the only one in there-" He let out a loud groan as his pain came again. He took in a few deep breaths as she hurried to the bathroom. He could tell the throbbing was starting to turn into a constant pain.

She returned to him with an open bottle. She took his hand and shook a pill into it, and then she turned to grab a glass of water but he swallowed it whole. He gagged slightly on it, and resulted in choking on it slightly.

"Hiccup, what's going on?" she asked him. She was on her knees in front of him. "What can I do?"

Hearing the fear in her voice startled him. His mind was racing. He knew he didn't want her to see him this way, but he didn't want to be alone at the same time. Plus, her father was coming. What to do was the question he was plagued with.

He reached into his pocket for his cell phone, and decided to call his father, hoping he would answer. After three rings, it went to voicemail.

"Dammit!" he yelled.

"Hiccup-"

The wave came again more severely and it took all he had to hold back. He placed his fist into his mouth to keep from screaming. Suddenly, his stomach started flipping into knots. It always did after he took his pain pill.

He heard a car pull up outside the house. He knew it was her father.

"Astrid, your dad-"

"He can wait," she said. "What is wrong with you-"

Hiccup redialed his father again, and it rang three times again and went to voice mail. He tried to text his father, but his vision was going blurry. His head was throbbing worse.

"Astrid, I need to go lay down," Hiccup said to her. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Okay," she replied gently to him. "Hold on one second."

He knew she had walked away for a few moments, but he didn't know where she went. He leaned heavily against the table again, feeling is stomach twist. Just as he heard another voice in the room, he felt the worst of the pain pulsate...right down to his nub.

"Hiccup, let's get you up, okay?" Astrid said to him.

He nodded incoherently to her, and he stood up and found himself leaning heavily against a taller figure. He also felt his hips get jarred a little bit, and he screamed in pain suddenly.

"Shhhhhh-" Astrid said to him. "It's okay."

"My crutch-" he said to her. He found it under his arm and he was leaning against it, but being supported as he made his way down the hallway towards his room. He had help getting into bed. He could hear a few voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying at the moment. His head was pounding too much.

He heard his cell phone go off just for a fraction of a second. He heard Astrid's voice, then he heard another voice. He knew it had to be her father's.

Feeling a cold rag press against his forehead suddenly, he felt calmer. It's exactly what he needed.

What felt like centuries later, he finally felt the pain in his hip ease up. He curled his legs up towards himself, feeling just a small throb in his nub finally. Opening his eyes, he realized Astrid was sitting beside him in his bed. He was conscious of the fact that she was holding his hand gently. He gave it a squeeze.

"Hiccup," she said quietly.

"Hey," he said gently. Opening his eyes, he could see her in the dim light from the hallway. "What-what time is it?"

"About eleven," she replied.

He sat up quickly, but wished he hadn't. He winced slightly at the surge of pain going through him. The cold rag fell from his face.

"Your dad-"

"He's talking with your dad-"

"What-" Hiccup said. He reached up and rubbed his temples gently. Why was his luck like this.

"Hiccup-what happened?" she asked him quietly.

It was then that he realized she hadn't completely let go of his hand. He chewed the inside of his lip for a second, then squeezed her hand gently. He was trying to find the words to tell her.

"It's kind of hard to explain," he said quietly. "It's not something that happens very often. But, it does."

"Was it some sort of attack-or-?"

He shook his head. "Nothing like that. It's something that happens with amputees. They come out of no where a lot. Today, I'm pressure sure it was caused by me walking home from school."

"Hiccup, that's more than a mile's walk," she replied.

"It's not hard if you have both of your legs. With that prosthetic-" He winced gently as he felt the pain in his hip surge slightly. "With that thing, constant movements like that for longer periods of time seem to agitate this. I should have known it was coming. I saw the signs and I was being stubborn. Thought I could work my way through it. But, when the aches were becoming worse, I knew it was coming. I was hoping your dad would have come before they grew worse."

"So, what-"

"It's called a phantom pain," Hiccup said. "Those pills have been the only thing that seems to help keep them at bay sometimes. Other times it doesn't work and I have to just wait for it to go away. My dad never knows what to do when they come. Usually I just work through them, because honestly I don't even know what helps and what doesn't help without taking that medication."

He squeezed her hand gently. "I just didn't want you to see me like that. If it scares my dad, I am sure it frightened you."

"The only thing that frightened me about it was how quickly it seemed to come. I thought you were having a seizure for a moment. Then Dad read the bottle closely and said that it was something to help with pain-take as needed."

Hiccup nodded. "Snotlout caused me to miss my bus this afternoon. I couldn't get a hold of my dad, so I decided to walk home-"

"Why didn't you call me?" she asked him.

Biting the inside of his lip, he sighed. He looked up at her and saw the fear in her eyes again. The fear scared him. He didn't want to scare her or hurt her. It was the last thing he wanted to do to her.

"I didn't call you because-well, I didn't want to ask for favors. I feel like I am a burden sometimes-"

"Hiccup, you are no burden," she replied to him.

"Look at me, Astrid!" He let go of her hand and gestured to himself. "I have one working leg and one working arm. My father left me at the hospital for a full day because he was with his girlfriend and forgot to come and get me. I practically have to fend for myself. I walk with a crutch when I'm not around anyone. Here's something you didn't know-my dad has a handicapped sticker to hang from the mirror when we go places because my doctor said I might need it-" He breathed and turned his head from her. He willed the tears in his eyes to leave.

"Hiccup, you talking about it makes you sound pathetic," Astrid said to him.

Turning to look at her again, he saw the hurt in her eyes still.

"You don't have any confidence in yourself, do you?" she asked.

It took him a moment to answer. "To be honest, no. Each time you show up here or talk to me, I sit here and wonder why you keep coming back."

She went to speak but he spoke over her.

"Snotlout threatened me today," he said. "He told me that your dad was trying to get him in court for the accident. And that with me being a witness, it'll jeopardize him. He told me if I testified, he would be sure to come after me-"

"He scared you," Astrid said gently.

"He did," Hiccup said. He was suddenly aware of his nub throbbing again. He reached under the covers and started massaging it, willing the pain away. He was getting worked up. "I've always been this weak kid. And that continues to scare me."

"What else scares you?" Astrid said to him.

Hiccup sighed. He took a moment to search his feelings. He looked at her, and sighed. "You."

"Me?" she asked him.

"I'm afraid eventually you will decide to not be my friend anymore. You'll decide to walk away. Today, even Fish said you were far out of my league. Couldn't understand why you were texting me, finding me at lunch to eat with me...That scared me. I'm afraid of letting you in, and then-"

"Poof, I'm gone," Astrid said.

Hiccup nodded. "That's what scares me the most. Poof."

She gave him a weak grin. She reached her hand up and rubbed his forehead. She slid his wet, messy hair over to the side a little bit. Her gentleness eased him. He closed his eyes and took it in. He was smelling the beachey smell again. He realized then that it had to be her lotion he was smelling. He felt her forehead lean into his, and her hand rested against his neck.

"Hiccup-I don't think I could bring myself to leave you, even if I wanted to," she said quietly.

"You don't?" he asked.

"I don't."

"Why do you say that?" he asked her.

"Because-when I am with you, all those worries I have go away. The school day, dealing with the track team, my own personal fears. Those melt away. Every time I am near you-I think that's one reason why I don't want to be away from you."

"You'll get tired of me, you know?" he said to her. "Eventually, I am sure you will."

She laughed.

"Hiccup, promise me you will try to get some self-confidence."

He sighed. "I'll promise to try." He gestured to his arm. "Friday, maybe I'll feel better."

"I sure hope so," she replied to him.

...

Astrid and her father left the house not long afterwards. Hiccup leaned back against his pillows and relaxed a little bit. He pulled his sketch pad up off the floor, and laid it on his table next to his bed. When he settled himself back down, he heard his father approach and knock on his bedroom door.

"You gave the Hofferson's quite a scare this evening," his father said. "Can we chat for a few moments?"

He nodded at his father, who took a seat in the chair. Nervously, Hiccup pulled up his blankets, wondering what his father wanted to talk about.

"Was this the first time she was over here?" he asked his son.

Hiccup shook his head. "She came by yesterday after school. She was making sure I was all right."

"Was that the first time you've seen her since the accident?"

Hiccup shook his head. "The last night I was in the hospital, she stopped by and we talked for a long while."

His father sighed gently. "Hiccup, were you guys friends before this accident?"

"No, we weren't." He looked at his father and sighed. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you tonight."

His father sat down on the bed where Astrid had been sitting before. "You didn't embarrass me, son. I was a little alarmed when two strangers were in my house when I came home. But, once I saw the girl, I figured it out." His father waited a moment. "I haven't exactly been there a whole lot for you here lately, have I?"

Hiccup looked up at his dad. He shook his head gently.

"Work-"

"You and I both know you aren't working all the time," Hiccup said. He cut right to it. "Dad, when you didn't come get me at the hospital on Monday I was pretty hurt."

"And you've held it over my head since," he said. "I deserve that."

"Dad, I don't care if you go hang out with Katherine. I'm glad you found someone you like being around. That's fine. But-" Hiccup sighed. "I feel like I am whining-"

"I wouldn't exactly say you are whining," said his father. "You are being sincere. That's a strength that you have that I never have had."

"I know," Hiccup said to him. "Dad, can you just see her a couple of times a week? At least until I get past this?"

"Something's making you anxious," his father said to him. Hiccup liked that word better than 'scared.' "What is it?"

"Well, the guy that hit Astrid outside threatened me today. Astrid's dad practically wants his head. I'm a witness to the accident. Snotlout is afraid I am going to put forward any punishment he gets."

"He deserves more than just a slap on the wrist for driving drunk at 16 and hitting someone head on," said Mr. Vast.

"I agree," said Hiccup. "But, he held me up and I missed my bus. And I-"

"How did you get home?" his father asked him. Obvious concern was in his voice.

"I walked-"

He saw the fury in his father's eyes when he told him what he had done. When he fell off the roof and was in the hospital over the summer, his father was there most of the time. He had taken his work from the office home into his study. He was there to make sure Hiccup was at his appointments, there while he was getting used to moving with the crutch...and there for when he had his phantom pains that had raged weekly the first two months he was an amputee. With this, his father hadn't really been there.

"Hiccup, you shouldn't have walked that far with your leg-"

"I tried to call you-"

Swallowing, his father nodded. "I know you did. And, I sent it to voice mail and didn't call you back."

"Dad, you sent me to voicemail TWICE a little while ago."

Again, his father nodded. "I did."

ccup sighed. "I'm sorry-"

"No, you have no reason to apologize," his father said to him. "I need to be here a little more for you. At least until you are past this whole thing." He looked at his son for a moment, then asked him, "Do you want to go to school tomorrow?"

"I have a choice?" he asked.

"I didn't really want you going back to school yet. I may not show it so much, son, but I do worry about you. I really do."

Hiccup sighed. "I know you do, Dad. If you didn't you wouldn't have grounded me last week. Which, I deserve, and I honestly do appreciate you doing that. I had to learn my lesson."

"Well, I think you learned it when you were violently puking into the pot that next morning."

Hiccup gulped. "Don't remind me. That was pretty harsh. I'll take another week of grounding than do that again."

Mr. Vast laughed. "Now, what can we do? What can I do?"

"I'm okay for tonight," Hiccup said to him.

"You're sure?"

Hiccup nodded.

"How's the leg?"

It was then that Hiccup realized he was still rubbing his nub. It felt a little soothing.

"It's better," he replied. "I think I will feel better once these stitches are out and I can get back to normalcy again."

"You mentioned you were worried about being called as a witness earlier."

Hiccup nodded. "I never really thought about it until today. Snotlout's been worried, and honestly, I didn't really mention it to Astrid until she left. Even then, I didn't ask for a direct answer."

"Snotlout will be in court but Astrid's father said he wasn't going to pull you into that. You told me you didn't actually see them hit. Just heard the bang and saw the cars were damaged. There isn't any reason to call you in as a witness. Snotlout made his own bed. He's going to have to take the consequences."

Hiccup honestly felt much better. Hearing that took some stress away. He felt his eyes start to blink rapidly. He was becoming very sleepy again.

"As for tomorrow, I think you should stay home. Make sure you don't get another one of those pains throughout the night or tomorrow. Friday you've got a few doctor's appointments-"

"Tell me again why they want to do a blood draw." Hiccup collapsed back against his pillows.

"I think it's just to make sure your body is still responding well to the transfusion. Sometimes those can have some serious side effects-"

"Oh, great! Another thing to add to the plate!"

Mr. Vast shook his head at his son. "And I think you'll get those stitches out as well. Which means-"

"I'll be free of the cast and hopefully this sling!" Hiccup said excitedly.

His father nodded at him and went to take his leave. "Goodnight, son."

"Goodnight, Dad."

 **Not my strongest chapter, I do apologize. I wanted to get this whole anger thing with Stoick gone. It was killing me to write it like that because I really do like Stoick! His heart changed so much after what happened with the Monster Dragon (The Red Death). I know that Stoick never moved on past Valka in the movies, but I wanted to show him moving on in modern day, for my own personal reasons and experiences.**

 **I hope the next chapter is better for you guys. I do need some suggestions as to where you think this might head! Still thinking of an ending too! Those are always my absolute worst areas.**

 **Thanks again for encouraging me to continue on with this fic! So glad you guys convinced me to do more to it than just a one-shot! XX**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, guys! Hope everyone had a good Monday. It's been cold and snowy where I am at. Was not ready to go be an adult today. I'm 30, another 30 or more years to go before retirement!**

 **Antox - You had asked about how old they were in this story. I've got in my head they are somewhere between Sophomores and Juniors in High School. They are all able to drive (even though Hiccup doesn't have a car he can freely drive), which does put them to be in that age range. I should have been more clearer on that.**

 **I was also re-reading this and realized I had a slight issue with maintaining what happened to Hiccup's mother, and with that I do apologize. I changed what happened to her in the first chapter from the main story line (said that she left) and in another I wrote that she passed away. If anyone can tell me how I can edit that in there (as in the already published piece) so it makes more sense to me I would appreciate that! It's the ONE thing other than some typos I never caught that has drove me batty.**

 **Also, for anyone wanting some more Toothless views, I haven't focused on him at all during this story, and I probably won't. He just makes some minor appearances throughout the story.**

 **Thanks for your support guys! I've never actually shared my stories with ANYONE up until now (well, other than creative writing class in college). It means a lot to get some great support, and even those critical reviews that I received from "The Stone Crumbles." I love practicing my writing.**

 **Without any further chat, here is the next chapter in "Morals."**

 **...**

Hiccup overheard his father talking to the school over a bowl of what was now soggy cereal. It sounded as though he was arguing with them in regards to Hiccup's absences.

"Do you people NOT UNDERSTAND!" Mr. Vast said. "He's been in the hospital! Yesterday whipped him out-I don't care about your attendance policy! Check his school records. He's practically a straight A student-He had a blood transfusion on Saturday night-Are you talking about earlier this year? He had his leg amputated!-For crying out loud-How do I get a hold of the principal?"

Hiccup felt his stomach cave in as each passing moment went by. Even though his father was in his study talking to the school to have some privacy, his booming voice just filled the house. Hiccup abandoned his cereal where it sat on the table, and hobbled back to his room on his crutch.

Lying down just made his anxiety worse, so he decided to try to sketch again. He felt a smile come to his face when he pulled out his charcoal Astrid had bought for him. He decided to practice his shading skills on the cat again. Although this time he had to be creative since his muse wasn't in the original position.

A little while later his father came to his doorway and gave a gentle knock despite the fact that the door was open. Glancing up at his father, they both sighed at the same time.

"How many days of school have I actually missed this year?" Hiccup asked him.

"Including the three days this week-twelve. Which, isn't very many in my opinion. Outside of the flu you had back in November, the other days have been your doctor's visits and appointments, and your stay in the hospital. I am going to get your medical records from your doctors and go down and talk to the guidance office. You still have your medical excuse from the hospital, right?"

"It's in the pair of jeans hanging on the back of that chair," Hiccup replied.

His dad reached into the pockets and found it shoved inside the front. "You okay?"

Hiccup nodded. "I'm okay. Or, I will be. It isn't the end of the world."

Mr. Vast nodded.

"Dad, what are they going to do to me if they fight you on this?" Hiccup asked. "I didn't realized I'd missed this much school. The student guidebook said I could receive F's in all my classes-"

"Hogwash," his father said to him. "If I have to take this to the education board, I will. If you didn't have a 3.8 GPA and you were failing your classes left and right, I could understand their argument."

Hiccup had to hold back the tears from forming in his eyes. He was completely over everything. He felt his chest grow heavy for a split second, then he let out a deep breath and tried to push those worries away.

"I've got this, son," his father said. "You going to be okay for a few hours here alone?"

"I think so," Hiccup replied back. "Hey, just in case you don't get back before, would you care if Astrid came over?"

Mr. Vast leaned against the doorway, and crossed his arms.

"Okay, what is it with this girl?" Mr. Vast asked him.

Hiccup felt his face go red. "Nothing, really!"

"Hiccup, you've never been really good at lying to me." He took a seat on the bed across from his son. "Are you guys friends-or-or are you girlfriend and boyfriend, or-"

Hiccup took a moment to choose his words. Then he replied, "I don't even know, honestly. Last night, I told her some of my fears about her. She does scare me, Dad. Not in a bad way. I-I haven't had a lot of friends growing up, and she keeps coming back. We enjoy each other's company-but-"

"But what?" Mr. Vast asked when Hiccup didn't respond after a few moments.

"I told her I was afraid she would just-disappear-one day I'd wake up and-"

"Poof," said his father. "Hiccup, she isn't your mother-"

"I know," Hiccup replied. "I haven't dealt with this yet-"

"There's always a first," Mr. Vast said to him. "To answer your question, yes, she can come over. But, I'd prefer you guys stay in the living room or in the kitchen verses in your room-"

Hiccup paled. "Now you give me some rules about girls! Where were these three years ago when my voice cracked?"

Mr. Vast laughed and rubbed the top of his son's head, making his already untidy, auburn hair even worse. "I didn't have to worry so much then. You weren't interested in girls then-and up until now, you weren't. Tell me, son, has she kissed you?"

"Dad, gross!" Hiccup said, putting his hands over his ears.

"Ha! She has!"

"Not on the lips," Hiccup said to him.

"Still, it's going somewhere," said Mr. Vast. "I'll text or call you once I talk to the school, okay?"

Hiccup nodded to him. When his father left the room, he leaned back against his pillows and sighed with exhaustion. That conversation took a lot out of him. Yet, he felt himself smiling. Astrid was coming over after school was out.

...

"When is your next board meeting?" Mr. Vast demanded. "This is ridiculous!"

Hiccup excused himself quickly from the meeting, and left the guidance office. Instead of leaving the building, he sat on the inside of the double doors, slid down the wall and sat. He didn't want to hear his father make a scene. He would remain there until his father was done with his meeting.

Glancing at his phone, school was about to let out. He felt himself grow antsy waiting. He didn't want to run into anyone, especially Snotlout. Five minutes before the bell rang, he pushed himself back up to his feet, and headed back towards the office. He could still hear is father having a heated discussion with not just one guidance counselor, but now the principal. Feeling his stomach cave in again, he decided he needed to go into the room to see what was going on.

"He's missed too much school," said the woman guidance counselor.

"He's been in the hospital and doctor's appointment MOST of that time. We have a doctor excuse right now for EVERY DAY, except when he had the flu in November-"

"So, tell me again WHY he has all these doctor's appointments-" Mr. Finnegan asked.

Hiccup could tell his father was about to lose it. He'd seen his father throw chairs before out of anger. This was not something he wanted to happen, then he'd really be in trouble. It was time for him to speak on his own behalf.

"Dad-" Hiccup said allowed, too loud for what usually came from the small young man's mouth. The trio of adults turned to look at him. With shaky hands, Hiccup decided himself to take a different approach at this. He thought his insides were going to spill over from the anxiety. He pulled his arm out of the sling and walked up in the middle of the three adults. "Mr. Finnegan, under this cast, you will find thirty-four stitches as a result of slicing my arm on a broken car window last weekend. Here, on this arm-" He rolled up his sleeves to reveal the bruises on his arm, which made their eyes widen slightly-"Are the three places I had IVs in me. I have to go back tomorrow to see if I can get my stitches out-and also to make sure my blood is corresponding well with the transfusion I had to get from my dad."

He wouldn't look the adults in the eye, but he continued on with what he wanted to say. Rolling his sleeve down, he grabbed a hold of his father's arm, and started unhooking his prosthetic. "This-this is why I missed so much school earlier this year." Unhooking his prosthetic, he lifted his leg and let the contraption fall out of his pant leg and let it stand on the floor. "I can roll my pant leg up if you'd like to see-"

"That won't be necessary," said Mr. Finnegan. He reached over and started flipping through the doctor's excuses Mr. Vast had brought in. Also in the paperwork he found Hiccup's X-ray from when he fell and broke his leg, along with the X-ray that was taken after Hiccup's surgery.

Hiccup placed his leg back into place, then his arm back into his sling. He took a few steps towards his principal.

"I'm not asking you to understand what is going on, sir," he said gently. "I am asking for you to take a longer look at what is in front of you. I don't miss school unless necessary. I'm nearly a straight A student. I don't cause trouble. And I haven't missed a day of school since November-other than an adjustment they needed to make to my bum leg here. If I need a teacher's reference to help you consider, I'll gladly go get Mrs. Vickerson-"

"No-no, Hiccup," said Mr. Finnegan. "I think I've got enough evidence here." The principal looked at him and gave a weak smile. He turned to Mr. Vast. "I'll put a note in our files that we have spoken regarding your attendance record. If we need to, we will look into this matter further-"

"You understand that we aren't asking for nothing more than an acception to the rule of attendance, correct?" Mr. Vast asked. His voice had softened. "We do not want any special accommodations made. Hiccup gets around well for what he's had going on these last 8 months. And will continue to get stronger with time."

Mr. Finnegan nodded. "Other than this week, do your foresee anymore days your son might miss?"

"Other than appointments that might come up, no," replied Mr. Vast. "If he was in trouble here or at home, I wouldn't be here speaking with you. Outside of living and learning, I think I've got myself a pretty good kid."

Hiccup looked over at his father and smiled gently. It meant the world to hear that.

"Tomorrow he has an appointment to see the doctor about those stitches. In the event that they feel they cannot remove them tomorrow, are we going to have any issues or concerns about another appointment to be made to remove them?" Mr. Vast asked.

"With a doctor's excuse, no," said Mr. Finnegan.

...

Hiccup stared blankly out the window on the drive home in the car. He felt worn out and weak. His nerves were a little shot. Picking up his phone, he went to text Astrid.

3:42 PM - IS IT GOING TO BE AN ISSUE IF WE DONT HANG TONIG

"Whatcha doing, son?" asked Mr. Vast.

"I'm mentally and physically exhausted after that," he replied.

"You were afraid your ole' man was going to start throwing stuff, weren't you?"

Hiccup laughed. "I was."

"Well, I don't think I convinced them," said Mr. Vast. "I think you were the key to that decision-"

"He just pitied me, Dad," said Hiccup.

"If he did, that isn't your concern. You are a strong person, in your own way, Hiccup," said Mr. Vast. "Your sincerity and kindness towards people go a long way. My temper often gets in the way of things."

Hiccup sighed. He looked down at his text message to Astrid, and decided not to send it. Feeling himself grow a little calmer, he deleted his message to her.

...

"So, you just told them what was going on?" Astrid asked Hiccup, taking a bite of her frozen yogurt.

"Not totally," Hiccup said to her. "I had to physically SHOW them what was under all my clothes. I even took the leg off for them-"

"You did?" Astrid said.

"Yes," Hiccup said. "It re-convinced the principal to take a closer look at my medical records."

"Hiccup-you do realize you stood up for yourself, don't you?" Astrid asked him.

He looked up from his ice cream. He studied her for a few seconds. Her braid wasn't done perfect, not every hair laid in place. In fact, her hair was still damp from a recent shower after track practice. He thought she still looked pretty. She sat across from him on the living room floor cross-legged. She was in a pair of jeans and a hoodie. Her knees were showing through the holes prefabricated for purchase.

"Hiccup-?" she said to him gently.

"Yeah-" Hiccup blinked a few times. "I did, didn't I?"

Astrid nodded. After taking a bite of her ice cream, she leaned forward and reached her hand out towards his face.

He pulled back from being startled at her advancement towards him, but paused and let her touch his chin gently.

"Where did you get this scar from?" she asked.

Up until she asked, he'd forgotten about it. He blushed as she rubbed her finger over it twice, then removed her hand from his face.

"Sorry, I just invaded your personal space," she said gently. He could see she was blushing as well.

"I think that was from the cat when I was little," Hiccup said. "Somehow my dad didn't murder him when he did it."

"You know-I think your dad is just a big teddy bear," Astrid said to him.

Hiccup snorted, nearly choking on his bite of ice cream. His eyes burned from the coldness that spread through his head, and it took him a second to shake the feeling. He'd never heard his father described like that.

"I'm being serious!" she exclaimed. "He cares. He's compassionate-"

"You barely know my dad," Hiccup said.

"Well, he did tell me before he left the house that he made a special trip to the grocery store today-"

Hiccup dropped his face into his hand. He felt warm again, but laughed with her at his embarrassment. He felt her reach up and touch his hand again, drawing it down so she could look at him.

"You can't tell me he didn't go buy that pasta for us for dinner, and this ice cream-"

"You got me," Hiccup said, laughing with her. He hadn't felt himself smile like this in a few days. When they stopped laughing, he realized she still had a hold of his hand. He squeezed it gently.

Astrid reached over and pushed the button on her phone to check the time.

"It's after eight," she said gently.

"Kinda late to start that movie," Hiccup said quietly.

"It is-" she said. "What about tomorrow night? Think you'll be up for it?"

Hiccup tilted his head back and forth, weighing his thoughts for a moment. "I think so. Question is: Can you deal with the _gore_ and _horror_?!"

"Me?" Astrid asked. "I'm wondering if your stomach can take it yourself!"

"Oh, I can," said Hiccup. "Believe it or not, I've been able to push past the blood and guts. I can see how they make the props for the movies-well, most of them!"

Astrid sighed. "That takes all the fun out of a horror-suspense film!"

"Do I detect a hint of whine in your voice?" Hiccup asked her. "

She laughed at him again. "Seriously!"

"Yes, seriously!" he laughed. There was no use in trying to finish his ice cream. He was laughing too hard at her. He only hoped she realized that he was only laughing with her-not at her. "I think I just disappointed you."

Astrid bit her lip in thought for a moment. She took her thumb and pointer finger and formed a space. "Maybe-a little."

Hiccup laughed gently. "I didn't mean to disappoint you."

"I think we need to find a different movie," she said. "One that keeps you from analyzing every SINGLE piece of the movie." She suddenly had a bright idea. "We need a chick-flick-"

Hiccup felt his stomach cave in gently. "What-"

She busted up laughing. "The look on your face! I did it! I found your weak spot!"

"Weak spot!" he cried. Suddenly, he found himself grabbing her neck gently. She laughed louder.

"What is that?" he asked her.

"St-st-stop!" she cried, laughing a little harder.

He did stop after a few moments, and he found himself laughing with her. He'd just found a tickle spot they both shared.

...

 **Did I just make the a little awkward?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, guys! Excited about another chapter. I haven't been this excited to write in a long time! I would like to know stories from everyone else about how they became obsessed with writing! I started writing in 3rd grade for a creative writing assignment. I remember the very first story I wrote, it was about two friends who were going against bullies on the play ground. Ever since then, I was deeply in awe with creating my own stories. I started writing fanfiction when I was probably 13 or 14, but I never shared it with anyone. My husband constantly asks what I am writing...I told him he has to read it to find out.**

 **Just incase, I do like to write on the "hurt/comfort" genre. I like those feel good stories when someone helps someone when they are upset and hurt. Ilike to help people so I think that is why I like this subject. Plus, I have this MASSIVE fear of doctors and needles, so when I write I think I try to work through my feelings in that regard.**

 **Shout out to - Bahari Muziki - I have so been there! Trying to get to the next chapter and there isn't one! Makes your heart sink. I hope I can make your day with putting this one out there...I'll try at least!**

 **I am trying to get more Snotlout into this. And I want to include more feels with Astrid, more deep talk. Hopefully I can do that for you in this chapter!**

 **Here you go!**

 **...**

Hiccup looked away from the nurse as she started the process of his blood draw. This was what he was fearing the most. Dr. Gothi asked him where he wanted to get start, this is what he chose. He wanted to get it over with.

"You have good veins," the nurse said to him quietly.

"Makes it a little easier," Hiccup said. That he was thankful for. He didn't have to get stuck too many times and they never had a hard time finding one.

He felt her tie the band around his arm and pat the bend in his elbow. He felt his pulse quicken when she started this. Only two more steps left. He closed his eyes at this point, willing it to be over with. The pain never really bothered him, just the sensation when it happened. He didn't like feeling the tip of the needle hitting his vein. He always wanted to shake it out when he felt the pressure of it. Sometimes it took all he had to hold still.

When she applied the wipe to his arm he held his breath. Then, he felt the needle go in. His stomach pitted in. For what felt like an eternity that needle was in his arm. Then, he felt the cotton swab go over his prick, and then the tape.

"There, just two tubes. You feeling all right?" the nurse asked him.

"Yeah," he said, relaxing finally. He reached over and rolled his sleeve down. He wouldn't look at his arm until it was covered up.

The nurse handed him a glass of water and placed a cool, damp towel on the back of his neck. It was then he became aware of how warm he was. The pit in his stomach subsided.

"I'll be in shortly to remove the stitches."

 _Maybe I should have done that first,_ he thought to himself.

He leaned back in against the wall on the exam table and took a sip of his water. The cold sweat on his body was making the cast itch worse then it already had been. Oh, how he couldn't wait to get the blasted thing off. Taking in a deep breath he tried to relax. He just wanted to get this over with.

The nurse knocked again and stepped inside. "Now, lets take a look at that arm."

...

Freedom. He was free from the sling and his cast. There wasn't anymore follow up he needed to do for his arm. Outside of still taking his antibiotics for another five days and applying a prescription scar cream to his arm, he was free.

"Let's see what it looks like," his father said when they were in the car. Hiccup brought his fist close to his cheek and showed his father his battle wound the stretched across his forearm. "You can see where you started to turn your arm at one point."

"I was told it'll be pretty pink for a while."

"I am not surprised. It looks good. That's the important thing. Is it a little sore?"

"Not bad," said Hiccup. "I'm glad after seeing it that I had that cast over it-despite the itch."

His father nodded at him. "I was told I'd get a call about your blood work in a few days. Probably Monday or Tuesday."

Hiccup shuttered. "Glad that's over-for now."

Mr. Vast nodded. "Now, would you want to go to school or have an extended weekend?"

Hiccup looked at the time on his phone. "Ehhh-Honestly, I better not push it with the teachers."

Mr. Vast nodded at him. "Okay, you'll be just in time for lunch. Homework's done?"

"Yes-"

"I'm surprised considering you've been hanging out with Astrid quite a lot here lately-" Mr. Vast put the vehicle into drive, and began to back out of the parking spot.

Hiccup sighed. "If I'd know you'd be picking on me about my first crush, I-"

"Speaking of that," Mr. Vast said. "Are you sure she's just a crush?"

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. "You keep asking me that. I haven't 'officially' asked her to be my girlfriend."

"Do you kids do that now?" Mr. Vast asked. He turned right and started heading towards the school. "When I started seeing your mother after a while we just kind of assumed it-"

"La-la-la-" Hiccup said, putting his hands up to his ears.

Mr. Vast sighed. "One minute you ask about your mother and another you want to hear nothing about her-"

"I don't want to hear anything negative today," Hiccup said. "She brings some painful memories back. I'm excited and happy! Don't ruin it for me, please!"

Mr. Vast sighed and nodded. "Fair enough."

"What about you and Katherine?" Hiccup asked. "Did you guys just assume you are dating?"

Mr. Vast eyes widened. Hiccup could tell he caught him on the spot with that one. Looking away from his father, he let a small chuckle slip through his lips and he waited for an answer.

"Well-" Mr. Vast began. "Somewhat. I don't think she's seeing other people-"

"Are you?" Hiccup asked him.

Mr. Vast shook his head and laughed slightly. "When you keep me on my toes, how do I have the time?

"I have been keeping you on your toes lately, haven't I?"

Mr. Vast nodded. "Yes, you have."

...

"I didn't know it was THAT big!" Astrid gasped when she looked at Hiccup's scar on his arm. "I mean-"

Fish ran his finger down it gently. "The skin is really smooth."

"And tender," Hiccup said, shaking the feeling from his arm. Barely touching the scar made cold chills go up his arm. It was a strange feeling. "But, I'm glad that cast is off."

Astrid took a bite of her apple. "What do you guys want to do tonight?"

Fish looked at her. "As in guys-you mean?"

Astrid swallowed her bite of apple. "I mean, we can hang out or something, the three of us, can't we?"

Fish's eyes went up with surprise, but Hiccup's face showed a really excited smile. This girl...was...Amazing!

"Oh, wait," Fish sighed. "I already promised Mom I'd help her with the basement tonight. Getting ready for spring cleaning." They could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"Well, maybe tomorrow, then?" she asked them both. "Ruff has been wanting to meet you both-"

"Both of us?" Fish asked.

"Yeah. She thought her brother would get along well with you both. They don't necessarily have a lot of friends. They kind of-" The boys were waiting for her to spit out what she was trying to say. Their looks made her a little anxious. "Well-you'll figure it out."

The bell rang to go to their next class. They gathered up their things and headed out of the art room and went their separate ways to class. Hiccup caught himself watching Astrid walk down the hallway in the opposite direction. He smile crookedly, then headed to his own class.

...

Last period. Great. He hadn't had to face Snotlout most of the week. He'd almost forgotten he'd have to deal with him today. One more class to get through and then it was the weekend. Putting positive thoughts into his head.

"Mr. Vast," Mr. Brice said allowed. Hiccup was really starting to not like this teacher. Not for making it plain obvious when he entered the room. Hiccup sighed and turned away from his desk to look at his teacher. "So nice of you to join us again. Do you have a signed excuse?"

Hiccup pulled his doctor's excuse from his pocket, the same as he had on Wednesday and handed it to him. The teacher looked at it for a moment.

"May I see you out in the hallway?" Mr. Brice asked.

This made Hiccup's stomach flip. Oh, how he hated his nervous stomach. He turned and headed towards the door and as he was walking through the threshold he felt something large bump into him-or had he bumped into it? Hiccup found himself stumbling backwards on his feet. He couldn't get his prosthetic to cooperate. He found himself on the ground.

"Oh-Tripod!" Hiccup looked up and there was Snotlout. "Fancy seeing you back."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the boy. He really wanted to give Snotlout a piece of his mind-but how?

Suddenly, Hiccup felt something wet on his arm. He looked down, and realized his scar was bleeding, and it wasn't small either. More than half of it seemed to have opened up suddenly. Hiccup gasped. He didn't know what to do.

"Snotlout-" Mr. Brice said to him, approaching the two boys.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Brice. I didn't see him there." Snotlout snickered and walked to his desk.

"Class, start reading you lesson on page 302," Mr. Brice advised. He helped Hiccup to his feet, and made sure Hiccup kept his arm bent upright so that the bleeding remained on the surface as best as possible. "Hiccup, are you all right?"

Hiccup nodded. He was being led back down to the front office. His anxiety was peeking again. What had his teacher wanted to see him in the office for? What was going to happen with his arm now? Was he going to have to miss more school? He sighed to himself.

In the main office, Mr. Finnegan stood in the nurse's station while the nurse used gauze to cover his arm up, and then a wrap to hold them in place. They had already called his father to come retrieve him.

"So, what happened?" Mr. Finnegan asked Hiccup. "How did this happen?"

Hiccup didn't look at his principal. He watched the nurse wrap his arm up in the bandages. Biting his lip, he said, "My foot wasn't co-operating."

" _Which_ foot?" his principal asked.

Hiccup almost lashed out, but he didn't. He felt small, like an ant. He was sitting in the nurse's station with three adults asking him questions and taking his account of the investigation they were conducting. Instead of reacting the way he felt, he did what he was taught. Treat adults with respect. Even though his father could be a hot-head most of the time, his father did teach him some manners. He went to say which foot it was, however, and was having a hard time telling them which one it was.

"Well-" Mr. Finnegan asked.

Hiccup replied. "The foot that isn't there."

His principal eyes flared at his answer, and Hiccup looked away, ashamed. "You are very accident prone, aren't you?" Mr. Finnegan said. His arms were crossed in front of him, and he was eyeing Hiccup very hard.

"You don't know the half of it," said Hiccup. He sighed and put his arm back down after the nurse had finished it. Freedom hadn't lasted very long. He was both angry and scared. He was angry at Snotlout for doing what he did, and scared that he was going to end up in trouble with the guidance counselor's office again. He assumed this is why Mr. Finnegan had taken special notice in seeing what had happened to Hiccup in Mr. Brice's class.

"Your father said he'd be here shortly," said Mr. Finnegan. "He needs to sign you out." With that, he walked away from them and back down to his office.

The nurse also left the room after removing her gloves. Who remained was Mr. Brice and Hiccup.

Hiccup bit his thumbnail nervously for a second, and once he caught himself doing it, he placed his hand back down. His good leg began to shake nervously.

"Hiccup-" Mr. Brice started.

He looked up at his teacher. He could see the concern on his teacher's face.

"I'm okay," Hiccup said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Brice asked.

Hiccup nodded. He swallowed hard and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about earlier?"

"That can wait until next week. Not a big deal."

Hiccup felt angry again. He felt like his teacher was sparing him some more disappointment. "Sir," he said. "If you don't mind, I'd rather you talk to me now verses next week."

"It isn't too important," Mr. Brice said.

"Please," Hiccup said to him. "Were you going to talk to me about my attendance so far this year?"

"Well-"

"I've walked down that path already this week with Mr. Finnegan and the guidance counselor-"

"Hic-"

"Are you wanting to fail me?" Hiccup said.

Mr. Brice laughed slightly, then pulled over the nurse's stool to sit in front of Hiccup. "I know you are having a rough time the last few weeks-"

"I'll be okay," Hiccup said to him.

"I know you will be. If you think I was going to tell you that you've missed too much school, that was the last thing on my mind." He could tell he had Hiccup's attention. "Remember that essay you turned in to me earlier this week?"

Hiccup nodded. "It was a creative writing assignment-not really an essay, really-"

"Yes," Mr. Brice said. "I wanted to know if you would allow me to submit it to this-" He pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket, unfolded it and showed it to Hiccup. "I think your story needs to be heard."

Hiccup looked down at the paper. The paper was asking for short stories written by high schoolers.

"You took your own experience this summer and turned it into one of the most well written and moving pieces I've read in the last ten years I've been teaching. I don't show this to just any student. I want you to know that."

Hiccup saw that twenty short stories would be selected and then published in a book.

"You wrote yourself in that story, Hiccup," said Mr. Brice. "I want you to think about it this weekend and let me know what you think."

Hiccup looked up at Mr. Brice and let out a low sigh, but returned a polite smile. "Thank you."

Mr. Brice nodded. "Outside of a few typos that are easily fixable, I think you have something that these people would like to hear."

Hiccup nodded. "May I keep this?" he asked.

Mr. Brice nodded. "I need to get back to class. As for your attendance-"

Hiccup looked up at him. He hoped fear wasn't written all over his face.

"-Don't you worry about it. Okay?"

"I'll try not to," Hiccup replied.

"You are one of my top students. I'm not going to let some bad luck jeopardize that."

Receiving a nod in reply, Mr. Brice took his leave of the room.

...

Hiccup wasn't much for company that evening, but he sat with Astrid on the couch and shared some popcorn with her and watched some of a movie. He was having a difficult time paying attention to it. In fact, he couldn't remember the leading character's first name, or even what the purpose of the story was. Halfway through, Astrid reached for the remote and paused it.

"What?" he asked her after she eyed him for a moment.

"You've been picking at that arm of your's for an hour now," she replied. Without hesitation, she grabbed his left hand and pulled it towards her and pushed his sleeve up. He still hadn't removed the cotton ball from his blood draw that day. Without hesitating, she removed it gently from his arm and wrapped the tape round the cotton ball. "Hiccup-what's bothering you?"

Hiccup looked away from her for a moment. "I'll be okay. I wish everyone would stop worrying about me."

She leaned over and placed her hand on the side of his face. Gently, she moved his head to turn and look at her. "You've been distracted."

"Astrid, trust me, I will be okay," he replied.

"Why do I not believe that?" she asked him.

"I will be okay, please," he said. "Please, let it go."

"You've been quiet and distance all evening," she said. "Did I do something-?"

"No!" he said, reaching up and taking her hand from her cheek and into his. "I've just had an off day."

She gave him the eye. "Something happened and you aren't telling me."

"Please," he said. He felt her give his hand a squeeze. He didn't let go of her hand, though. I felt nice sitting inside of his. "Can we enjoy our movie?"

"Hiccup-"

He threw his head back and let out a deep sigh, showing is frustrations with her refusing to listen to his pleas.

"You like to keep secrets," Astrid said. "I don't like that."

He looked at her and gave her a sly grin. "I wouldn't call it a secret."

"Then what is it?" she asked him. She tried to tickle his side playfully, but she accidently hit his sore arm. He winced and put his hand up blocking her from touching him again. Astrid realized then he was defending himself from her tickle-attack. "Hiccup-"

Rubbing his arm through his long sleeved shirt, he made sure the wrap was still secure. He looked over at her, and caught her eyeing it. Feeling defeated, he pulled his arm out of his sleeve to show her the wrap.

"What happened now?" she asked him.

"I'm accident prone," Hiccup replied.

"No, seriously," she said to him. "You _just_ ditched the cast this morning."

"Tell me about it," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. So, he told her about Snotlout running into him and the fall he had. "Apparently, my arm still wasn't healed enough to actually get the stitches removed."

Astrid rolled her eyes at him. He thought for a moment she was tired of hearing him talk about his misfortunes, but she wasn't. She was irritated with Snotlout.

"He's targeting you," Astrid said to him. "You did nothing wrong-"

"Neither did you," Hiccup said to her. "Unfortunately, he's taking every opportunity he can find-"

"What did Mr. Brice want anyways?" Astrid asked suddenly.

"Oh, that," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Nothing-just asking how I was doing, really. He was nice enough to help me down to the nurse's station."

"He's a good teacher," Astrid said.

Hiccup nodded in agreement.

"So, what did they do to your arm?" she asked.

"Well-they numbed me, reopened it and and re-stitched it-"

"You're kidding?" she said.

"I wish I were," Hiccup said gently. "I hate to say it, but I think I need to have the doctor maybe readjust this leg of mine. School is going to lo-ve that!"

"What's your dad say?" Astrid asked.

"He thought the same thing-needs readjusted."

Astrid sighed slightly. "But-you're okay?"

Hiccup laughed slightly and nodded, pulling her in closer to him. "Let's just watch this movie, mi'lady." He reached for the remote, and started the movie, and placed his arm around her to hold her close. She stiffened at first, as did he, but eventually they snuggled up to each other's warmth and relaxed.

A little while later, Hiccup felt cold, and he reached behind the couch for a blanket. Spreading it out over both of them, making sure their feet were covered, he placed his arm back around her. She snuggled up closer to him, this time he wasn't as tense. He kissed her forehead gently, and continued on with the movie.

 **So, do you guys remember how I was hogging the computer from my husband? Well, we bought me a laptop! I'm really excited because now I can write on my lunch hour at work, too! I won't be confined to one spot all night!**

 **This chapter took me about three hours to perfect. I have a few ideas I am going to toy with, so I hope the rest of them go okay.**

 **Please let me know what you think! Have a good evening, guys!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Running into some writers block. Oy! Trying really hard to figure out where to go next with this. Especially now that it is the weekend in the story...hmmm...I think I have it! After staring at the computer for over an hour, I think I have it!**

 **Here you guys go!**

 **...**

Astrid heard her doorbell ring inside the house around ten that morning. She was surprisingly awake, despite being up all night texting Hiccup. She was pulling her hair back into a braid as she headed down the stairs to answer the front door. Looking out the peep hole as she tied off her hair, a strange young man was standing on the porch over the welcome mat. He wasn't in uniform or anything. Just wearing jeans and a toboggan on top of his head. She waited a moment, then she pulled the door open just slightly.

"Hello, miss," the man said to her. "I am looking for Miss Astrid."

She felt her pulse quicken slightly when he said her name. "Yes?"

"Could you sign this for me?" he asked, pulling a clip board from behind his back with one hand. She took the pen and looked at the paper. All it said was her name and "Order Delivered to Destination" with her name at the bottom. She narrowed her eyes, but signed the document. "Thank you very much, miss." With his other hand, he pulled out a single purple rose and handed it to her. It had a small ribbon wrapped around it I a little bow. "Have a good day." With that the man smiled and left her porch.

Astrid shut the door behind her and opened the tiny card that was attached to the ribbon.

"Something to make you smile, milady."

She knew then it was from Hiccup.

Smelling the flower, she headed back up the stairs and pulled out her phone.

10:03 AM - WHAT ARE WE GETTING INTO TODAY?

She was surprised when she did not receive a text back almost immediately from him. She already knew he rarely slept in, or at least here lately he hadn't been. She never thought to ask him if he slept past noon on night he was up too late, either doodling or working on something. His mind was almost constantly spinning, she had noticed. Maybe today he had decided to sleep in.

Her phone suddenly dinged when she was pulling on her last shoe. She reached over to her phone and clicked the screen, looking at Hiccup's text message.

10:12 AM - MAKE SURE TO GET YOUR HIKING BOOTS AND SOMETHING WARM.

Astrid felt her heart catch in her chest. Was he being serious?

10:11 AM - IT'S LIKE...10 DEGREES OUTSIDE. ARE YOU SERIOUS?

10:14 AM - IT'S 35. DON'T FORGET TO DOUBLE UP YOUR SOCKS.

Astrid rolled her eyes. Was he being that serious?!

10:16 AM - WHAT ABOUT YOUR LEG? YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS WHY YOU FELL...

10:19 AM - YOULL CATCH ME IF I FALL (angel emoji) NOW YOU ARE WASTING TIME. TRAIN IS LEAVING AT 11!

Astrid sighed. She was not prepared for this type of adventure. What was he thinking? Didn't he know it takes girls some time to get ready?!

10:21 AM - YOU DO REALIZE WOMEN NEED MORE THAN AN HOUR'S NOTICE...ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY DO NOT HAVE HIKING MATERIAL JUST READY AT ANY MOMENT.

10:22 AM - FINE, YOU WIN. I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXTRA 15 MINUTES...READY SET, GO!

She growled and started digging through her closet looking for her boots.

...

Astrid heard the door bell ring downstairs at 11:15. He was right on time. She was still digging through her closet trying to find something to put over her ears. She couldn't find anything at all. She shoved what she could back into her closet ( _I'll take care of it later_ ) and grabbed her back pack from her bed. Inside she had shoved a few extra pairs of socks, an extra hoodie, and her tennis shoes for later.

She stopped short on the stairs when she heard it open. Her father had answered the door.

"Hello, Hiccup," her father said to him.

"Hello, Mr. Hofferson," he replied to him. He sounded very chipper.

She could hear her father chuckle slightly. "I see you've managed to stay on your feet today-"

Astrid slapped herself in the face, and immediately turned red. Leave it up to her father for saying something so lame, especially to a boy who literally only had ONE foot.

She heard Hiccup laugh gently.

"Yeah," he replied. "Thank you again for helping that night. I'm sorry we had to meet on those circumstances."

"You couldn't help that," her father said to him. "By all means, come on inside! Astrid was upstairs getting ready."

"Thank you," Hiccup said gently, and she heard him step inside. "My boots are pretty wet. If it's okay, I'll stay close to the door. I don't want to track water inside-"

"Have a seat there on the bench," Mr. Hofferson said. She heard him sit down in his rocking chair. She decided she would pause for a moment, and let Hiccup stay in the hot seat for a little bit. It's exactly what he deserved for making her rush all over the place. "Astrid said you like to go hiking."

"I do," Hiccup replied. "I admit, I have been going a little stir crazy these last few weeks-"

"I'm sure you have been," her father replied. "How long do you think you'll be out?"

"Well, maybe two hours-"

"Ha-if you can keep my daughter out in this weather that long, it'll be a miracle. She is constantly curled up here at home under a heated blanket."

She turned bright red.

"Now I understand why she hesitated when I told her earlier what we were doing," Hiccup said gently.

There was a moment of silence, then she heard her father say, "Would you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Uh-"

"Do you like dumplings?"

"I do-"

"There, that settles it," Mr. Hofferson said. "Six o'clock sharp. Darcy has been wanting to meet you-"

Astrid finally took her move and decided to head down the stairs, purposely putting her weight into the stairs and she headed down. Her father looked up and smiled at her from where he sat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Astrid said to him. "I couldn't find a hat."

"That's okay," Hiccup said to her, standing up from the bench. He walked over and shook her father's hand. "I'll see you both this evening, then."

"Sure thing. Be good, be careful."

With that, they took their leave.

...

Hiccup reached over and took Astrid's hand as they drove a few miles outside of town. His hands felt very warm against her cold skin.

"No wonder why you cover up with a heated blanket," he replied. "Your hands are actually frozen."

She gave him a gentle shove.

"I knew you were listening," Hiccup said.

"Were you trying to impress me with the way you were talking to my father?" she asked.

She watched Hiccup's expression soften slightly. He gave her a little sideways grin, then made a turn around a corner. "This is how I was raised, Astrid. This isn't me showing off."

And, she believed him.

...

It took everything she had to get out of the warm car to head into the woods. She pulled on two pairs of gloves over her hands, pulled her scarf up around her neck better, and stepped out into the cold. She was thankful the wind wasn't blowing too hard.

Hiccup had popped the trunk and was pulling out their back packs. He held Astrid's up so she just had to slip the straps over her shoulders, then he pulled his over one of his shoulders, dropped the lid, and started down the path.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, then before they stepped foot into the woods, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to where he stood. He basically was forcing him to look him in the eye.

"I won't keep you out here too long, I promise," he said to her.

"I'll-b-be okay," she said. Her teeth were already chattering.

He laughed slightly, then reached into his jacket pocket, and pulled out a brown hat. He reached up and slipped it over her head for her, making sure her ears were covered.

"There, that's better," he said simply, then he leaned in, kissed her forehead, grabbed her hand and headed towards the woods. The boy was giving her massive butterflies.

...

"So, where's your favorite spot?" she asked Hiccup and short time later. She saw that his nose was already turning red from the cold. She could already feel it on her own as well.

"You'll know-trust me," he said to her.

She followed behind him, and was actually having a hard time keeping up. After a short time, she noticed he was grabbing a hold of some saplings around the path. It was then that she started watching his feet. It was obvious he was worried about falling in the areas the leaves were the thickest with his leg.

"This is actually a horse trail," he said to her gently. "But, everyone hikes it. Just have to watch your step on the occasion. I noticed a few horse trailers in the parking lot. We are bound to see some manure somewhere."

It wasn't long before they found themselves at the base of a very tall...steep...hill. Hiccup laughed when he saw the look on her face.

"And yes, we are climbing it," he said.

"It'll take ten minutes to climb straight up it," she said.

"We aren't going straight up," he replied. He pointed towards the left, and that was when she realized there was a path that zig-zagged its way up. "It takes a little while."

Astrid sighed, then decided to start up the "mountain" without him. He skipped a few steps to catch up with her. He led the way.

"So-how-do you-do this so-easily?" she asked him, feeling out of breath. Here she was thinking she was a prime athlete, and she was barely able to make it up the hill.

"Lots and lots of practice," he replied to her. "I've been hiking out here since I was a kid. Dad and I would always come out here to let me burn off some steam. He can tell when I get too cooped up in the house most of the time. I get a little-short sometimes-"

"I haven't-notice that," she said to him. He slowed down around the fourth turn they had made on the path. He wanted her to catch her breath.

"I do," he said. "You've just kept me in a good mood for the most part." He tapped her nose with his pointer finger, waited another moment, and they headed forward.

They both were grabbing the saplings now along the trail, partially to keep balance as the walk up, they were both leaning forward so they didn't fall backwards.

"I think the horses took the other path," Hiccup said suddenly. "We haven't come across any presents along the way."

Astrid was thankful for that. She would have the luck of stepping into horse poop and be dragging it along with her on their hike, leaving the smell in Mr. Vast's vehicle. She was pretty sure Hiccup had done that to him a time or two.

Hiccup stopped suddenly as they reached the top of the hill, he turned to her and said, "Close your eyes."

"Close my eyes?" she asked.

"Please," he said to her.

She did as she was told, and he took her hand, and rested it in the crook of his arm. He slowly and gently led her a few feet up. She suddenly felt her foot dip a little bit downwards, and they both almost lost their balance as she couldn't see where she was stepping. He caught her though, and a few more steps later, he stopped her.

"Okay," he said gently into her ear.

When she opened her eyes, she was in total amazement. On each side of her were two very large trees that had grown into the side of the hill. As they had grown, they had fused together to become one.

"My favorite spot," Hiccup said to her. "It's prettier in the fall, or when we have a fresh snow."

Out past the arch, the path wrapped around to the other side of the hill, where massive boulders rested half inside the hill. There were names carves inside those boulders. Some you could tell were newer, and others you could tell had aged some.

Hiccup moved away from Astrid and took a few steps forward and rested himself against one of the boulders. There, he pulled his back pack off of his shoulder, and started digging through it.

"Hiccup-this beautiful," Astrid said to him. She wished she had been able to see it for the first time during the fall. Using her imagination, she filled in the gaps. She felt a very calm feeling she had been experiencing overpower her. Suddenly, the cold wasn't so bad, and the hike was something in the past. "It is worth the trip."

He laughed at her and pulled her attention over to him for a moment. He'd held a small silver cup out to her. She pulled off a set of gloves, and reached her hand to him and took the cup, which had steam flowing out of the top. Hiccup had brought hot chocolate.

"There are days I sit here and just look at the landscape," Hiccup said. "I've never been brave enough to attempt to draw it. The arch-I have. Years ago. But-not since."

"Why not?" Astrid asked.

"If I sit here too long, I'll into a deep sleep," Hiccup said to her.

She tilted her head at him slightly.

"There's just something about it-all your worries just wash away right here. The arch is like a gateway-a gateway of-" He was having a hard time describing it. He kept using one of his hands to try to describe it but nothing was coming out. "My mood changes almost immediately as I step through that arch."

"I can feel it, too," Astrid said to him gently. She blew on her hot chocolate, and took a small drink. Looking over, she watched Hiccup just stare out into the distance. He seemed to be taking it all in. The lay of the land, the beauty of the nature surrounding them. She was too busy studying him to enjoy it.

After a few minutes of silence, Hiccup turned to her. Suddenly, he had a look of sadness in his eyes. It scared her suddenly.

"My dad proposed to my mom up here," Hiccup said to her. "If you go around the corner of that boulder, he carved their initials in. It's been there since their wedding day twenty years ago." He shrugged. "My mom's always been a slightly sore subject with me."

"What happened?" Astrid asked him gently.

He turned back to her and looked at her eyes. He breathed, and lost eye contact when he looked into his cup of hot chocolate nervously.

"I was maybe-three-four?" he thought. "I'm honestly not sure. But, one night I woke up in my bed from having a nightmare. And, when I went to wake her up and have her rock me to sleep-she wasn't anywhere to be found in the house. A few days later, I heard Dad crying into the phone-begging her to come back home. He's never told me what that conversation entailed. But, I can come up with my own conclusions-" Hiccup sighed. "I don't know why she left. My dad isn't an easy person to get along with sometimes-he can be a real hot-head. But, he's my dad. We all make mistakes. I think Dad slipped up somewhere-and she left."

He glanced back at her and let out a sigh. After a moment, he smiled at her gently.

"I'm sure I didn't give you a very good impression of my dad when we first started talking," Hiccup said to her. "I mean, he left me at the hospital for heaven's sake-"

"As you said, Hiccup-we all make mistakes-"

Hiccup nodded. "That is right."

Astrid leaned against the rock beside him, and took another sip of her hot chocolate. She sighed, and looked back out in the distance beside Hiccup.

After a few minutes, she saw him jolt suddenly out of the corner of her eye. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he just gave her a weak smile. She assumed he was just trying to shake off the feeling of sorrow he suddenly had.

Sighing heavily, he tipped his tin cup back and swallowed the last of his hot chocolate. She did the same, and he gathered both cups, wiped the excess out of the inside with a napkin and threw everything back into his back pack.

"Ready to head back down?" he asked her quietly.

Astrid nodded. "As long as you are."

"Oh, I'm rarely read," he said. He leaned his face closer into her's. He kissed her cheek, grabbed her hand, and slowly they headed down the hill.

...

Astrid practically ran to the car once they were out of the woods. She could hear Hiccup laughing at her as she did. She'd taken the keys from him to shove them into the ignition to warm the car up. Turning the heat up on high, she placed her hands over the vents in the attempt to warm them up faster.

Hiccup opened the driver's side door just to pop the trunk open so that he could put their back packs inside.

Astrid pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. There was only one text message from her phone from her mother asking her what Hiccup would want to drink for dinner. She replied back saying unsweet tea or water would be fine.

"Tripod!"

...

 **I am not going to lie, I think this is my favorite chapter yet! I hope it was okay to change the point of view for this one.**

 **The scene is actually ALMOST a version of a horse trail here at home that I used to hike with some friends and about 6 Chihuahuas a few years ago. I loved looking out past the old rotted tree. I didn't want to put a rotted tree in there obviously...It wouldn't have looked so pretty for the moment!**

 **What do you guys think? I want to hear. Also, if you'd like to tell me what chapter has been your favorite so far, I'd love to hear it!**

 **Thank you guys!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I kind of left the last word/paragraph in the last chapter kind of hanging there. I started writing this part, but then thought differently... I wanted to keep the cuteness going on that! But still keep you wanting more.**

 **I struggled horribly with this. I could of had this go a completely different way, but thought differently. I literally rewrote this chapter about six times. I am having some writers block on this one, so if anyone else can give me some suggestions as to what they want to see next (I am open to ideas) I'd love some. I am going to hold off on the "hurt" stuff, though. I think the poor kid's been through enough the last week, don't you?**

 **Also, someone (and forgive me, I cannot remember the name of the reviewer) made me stop and think about this story a little bit. I LOVED the review they gave as it made me stop and realize something-sometimes I do write my stories as though some of the characters have no flaws in them. I loved this, as years ago I was writing about a young high school girl getting pregnant by her boyfriend. This girl could do NO wrong, outside of becoming pregnant in high school. I literally wrote her as though she was flawless, right now to her skin, her body, etc. Since then, and this review, I have tried to take a step back a little and think about Hiccup's character.**

 **With Hiccup, his flaws I see are as follows: 1) Lack of self-confidence, 2) He does make mistakes as he went drinking when he argued with his dad, and 3) He is having an inner struggle with his own body, and is worried Astrid views him as weak, as Snotlout views him...because that is the bottom line...Hiccup is easy target for Snotlout...**

 **Without further ado, here is the next chapter.**

 **...**

"Tripod!"

Hiccup felt the breath catch in his chest when he heard Snotlout scream his name-from directly behind him. He had just shut the trunk of the car and was about to head back to the driver's side. Why did he have to show up? His leg had been throbbing since they had been halfway up the hill. He chose to ignore it since he was excited to show his favorite place to Astrid. She didn't seem to notice the limp he had on the way down the hill, which he was thankful for.

Turning around, Hiccup came almost face to face with Snotlout. Only about six feet of pavement at their feet separated them from each other. He heard Astrid's door opened behind him. Why couldn't she have stayed in the car?! He was worried she'd get hurt.

She approached somewhat cautiously once she and Snotlout made eye contact with each other. She stood about three feet from Hiccup's left side. He held his arm up towards her, just in case he needed to grab her for any reason or shield her. His adrenaline was kicking in worse, which in turn was causing his leg to throb worse.

"Snotlout-go away-" Astrid said calmly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"There's lover girl," Snotlout said. He had an annoying crack when he laughed.

Hiccup noticed Snotlout's foot was starting to move towards them. He slipped a little closer to Astrid when he noticed this. His leg suddenly let out a pulsating throb. "Not again-" he said under his breath, clenching his teeth, trying not to scream.

Astrid wrapped her arms tighter around herself. Snotlout was making her nervous. Hiccup didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. Again, too much was going on around him. His mind was getting dizzy from the stress. He took in a deep breath and exhaled to try to calm his anxiety with the situation.

When Hiccup took another step back, his leg screamed in pain. His hip felt like it was on fire. Hiccup bit the inside of his mouth trying not to scream. He let out a deep breath to try to relax himself. He had to remain standing just in case-for Astrid. His pills were in his bag. He'd neglected to take one because he was driving the car. Knowing he needed to stay on his feet to protect Astrid, he willed the pain away.

Snotlout, we don't want any trouble," said Hiccup. He registered his voice was becoming weak.

"We need to talk," said Snotlout. His tone changed. It was very direct.

"There is nothing we need to discuss," Hiccup said to him. His hip was beginning to rage, and he felt himself sway slightly. He shifted his hips a little, repositioning his leg on its prosthetic. That helped a little bit.

"You guys have to convince your dad to call off the hearing," Snotlout said to Astrid directly.

"He can do that!" she said to him. "The judge ordered the trial-"

Hiccup felt another twinge in pain. He couldn't stifle the groan that escaped his mouth.

"Hiccup-"

Leaning back against the trunk, he kept himself standing. He took a few deep breaths. Astrid was now between himself and Snotlout. Not only did her face read concern, but Snotlout's face showed pure confusion.

"I didn't put a hand on him!" Snotlout said suddenly.

"Would you shut up!?" Astrid yelled at him. "Hiccup-"

"I-I need to sit down," he said. He felt himself begin to sweat. The pain suddenly went from a six to an eight. He called out again suddenly.

"What can I do?" Astrid asked him. "Let's get you to the car-"

"What' going on?" Snotlout demanded. Hiccup saw him approaching them. He pushed himself forward, pulling Astrid behind him and put his hand out towards Snotlout. Surprisingly the boy stopped just a few inches short of where is hand was. "You stay back." It took all he had keep standing.

"Hiccup-" Astrid was trying to get his attention.

Snotlout's shoulder's softened. He dropped his hands to his side. He waited a few seconds. He was studying Hiccup closely, and Hiccup could feel his eyes wondering. Then, Snotlout asked, "What is wrong with you?"

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup-" Astrid whispered to him. He felt her grab his arm. "C'mon-"

Hiccup debated. If he turned away from Snotlout, he was afraid he would charge. If he continued to stand there practically having a staring contest, he knew he'd pass out. Just as the pain sheered up him again, he shifted backwards and fell partially into Astrid and the hood of the trunk. Astrid had to steady him.

"I'm fine-" Hiccup said to her, regaining his balance. He took in a deep breath, and willed the throbbing away. He turned back to Snotlout. "I don't have the strength to deal with you right now-"

"Hiccup-seriously, what is wrong with you?" Snotlout asked. Suddenly, Hiccup realized he was being very sincere. Suddenly, he took a knee down onto the pavement. "I'll back off-"

Hiccup stared at him in shock. "What?"

Both Astrid and Hiccup were surprised by his actions. Astrid turned and looked at Hiccup.

"You need your meds, don't you?" she asked him.

He nodded. "There are in my back-pack, but you'll have to drive the car home-" Just then, his pain sheered again, this time the pain was not subsiding like it would. He realized he was standing on his leg, and when he went to lift it up off the ground, that hurt even worse.

"Hiccup-"

"Astrid-open the trunk," Hiccup said to her. He was trying to catch his breath. The sweat started pouring from his forehead. He was beginning to feel very weak and he swayed again. Just before he fell, Snotlout stepped forward and caught him. He heard Astrid scream suddenly, and he felt himself being laid on the ground.

"Get away-"

"I'm not going to hurt him-" Hiccup heard Astrid slap Snotlout upside the face. "Get the bloody pills out of the trunk!"

"Astrid-" Hiccup said. He had to sit up. He couldn't just lay on the ground. Blurry-eyed he pushed himself up, using his hands to support himself. He heard the trunk open, heard her shifting through the bag. "Side pocket-" She found them and she opened them, trying to shake a pill out for him.

"Here-" she breathed, handing him the pill. He popped it into his mouth and swallowed it whole again. Feeling a hand rest against his shoulder, he knew it was her. "I need to get him home-"

Hiccup shook his head at her. "No-we have to wait for this to go away-" He winced again as the pain in his hip ran down to his nub. "Give me a few minutes-"

He felt both of their eyes staring at him. Astrid was rubbing her hand along his back, but he could barely feel it through his jacket. When the pain sheered again, he pushed her away. He didn't want touched. He growled at the pain, saying a prayer for it to vanish. "C'mon-" he breathed.

"What is going on?" Snotlout asked quietly. Hiccup almost forgot he was there before he spoke.

"It's a-phantom pain-" he breathed. "Astrid-can you get me water out of my bag?"

As she shoved through the bag, she spoke to Snotlout. "Scary, aren't they?"

Snotlout looked at her. "What is a phantom pain?"

"It's a pain he gets when his leg bothers him too much," she replied. Opening the bottle, they all could hear the plastic seal break. She placed the bottle into Hiccup's hands and let him take a few sips. "I think we over did it on the hill-"

Hiccup shook his head at her. "This will pass-" He rubbed his knee. Sweat continued to pour from his head. He wished the pain would let up. His stomach was beginning to bother him. Wait, he he eaten anything yet today?

"Hiccup-I can help you to the car-"

"No, Snotlout-" Hiccup's voice was raised. He kept his eyes closed. He could tell the light was beginning to bother him. Suddenly, his leg let out another sheer of pain at the nub, and he leaned forward onto it, trying to apply a different kind of pressure. A large moan escaped his body, and he was hunched over. He willed the tears away. It was bad enough that the tears were forming involuntarily. If he was at home, it would have been a different story. But, he was with Astrid, his crush...And Snotlout, the enemy. At this point Hiccup wished he was surrounded by fifty strangers. He thought that would be more comfortable than sitting here with both of them discussing his handicap.

"I appreciate you trying to help," Hiccup said to him after a moment. He had finally caught his breath. He hadn't realized he probably hadn't taken a breath in a minute. "This isn't easy-"

"Is it like a migraine?" Snotlout asked him.

"Ehhhh-not exactly," Hiccup said to him. His energy was leaving him. "Just something amputees get on the occasion. Sadly, this is my second this week."

"How often do you get these?" Snotlout asked him.

"Maybe once a month. But-my leg also hasn't gone through the cold weather until now-" He winced again as another wave went through his hip and down to his nub, but this time it wasn't quite as bad. "Astrid-is there a granola bar in my bag-"

Astrid went through each and every pocket, coming up short handed.

"Wait-" Snotlout stood up and went to his car.

"What can I do?" Astrid asked him.

"Just sit with me," Hiccup said to her. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to get in the car." Then, he paused. "Wait-Astrid, you've got to be freezing-"

"I'm fine," she said to him. She kissed him on his forehead gently, and rubbed his shoulder.

Snotlout returned back a moment later, placing an open bag of crackers in front of Hiccup. "You aren't allergic to peanut butter, are you?"

"No," Hiccup breathed. He was still applying pressure to his leg.

"Here, then," said Snotlout. He allowed Hiccup to reach into the bag and pull out the cracker sandwich. Slowly, Hiccup began to chew on it.

"Wait-you aren't trying to poison me, are you?" Hiccup asked him.

"Do you really think I carry a bag of poisoned peanut butter and crackers around?" Snotlout asked him.

Hiccup laughed at the response and took another bite. "Sorry-but-"

"Why are you helping us?" Astrid asked him suddenly. "You hate him-you are upset with me-" Astrid was coming right to the point.

Snotlout looked at her, and his expression sounded a little hurt. He replied. "I'm not that bad of a person. I do have a heart."

"Then why don't we ever see it?" Astrid asked him. "You pick on everyone that comes past you. You don't have ANY real good friends-"

Hiccup watched the expression on Snotlout's face change. He seemed a little hurt. Snotlout turned away, and sighed. He wouldn't look at them.

"I'm not the best person, I know," he said. "I make stupid decisions on a daily basis. I know that. I try to get everyone's attention by being the class clown-and I know sometimes I take it a little too far-"

"Like when you knocked me down in Mr. Brice's room?" Hiccup asked him. "You do realize I had to get more stitches after just getting my cast off after that, don't you?

Snotlout winced slightly. "I am sorry about that. I didn't know that would happen-"

"It still wasn't nice," Astrid said to Snotlout.

"I know," he said to her. Suddenly, his expression on his face changed. His tone changed. "Look-I'm sorry! I am a mutten-head! I know!" He looked away, and his voice became sincere again, and his expression changed. "My dad finally caught me drinking. When he told me to leave, that I was no longer welcome-I left. He didn't realize I'd get in the car and go. I know it was dumb of me-but I wanted out of that house as much as possible. Of course I was basically dead meat when I was handcuffed and my dad had to come get me from jail. I've been really nervous about this whole hearing. I'm afraid my dad is going to kick me out of the house again-"

"Snotlout, you deserve a lot of things coming to you," Hiccup said to him. He rubbed his nub gently again, then pushed himself to lean back against the trunk of the car. "But-you don't deserve to be kicked out of the house. We all make mistakes. I drinking two weekends ago. That's why I was grounded. That was why I was home when the accident happened-" He turned to look at Astrid. Her nose was bright red from the cold. She looked cute with her nose that red, with her freckles. Oh, he was loosing track of his mind. "Meds are working."

"Good," said Astrid.

"Thank you for the crackers," Hiccup said to Snotlout. He turned to look at Astrid. "Is there anyway he could talk to your dad?"

Astrid's jaw dropped. "Hiccup-after all the grief his actions have given you this week-you want to try to HELP him out?!"

Hiccup nodded gently. "I know we can't cancel the hearing-but is there something-" He paused and rubbed his leg again. He bit the inside of his lip. "This thing needs to come off-"

"What?!" Snotlout cried. "Don't take that thing off-"

"Oh, shut it!" Astrid told him. "You better watch it or I'll slap you upside your head again-"

Hiccup laughed slightly as he saw Snotlout cower. He tried to undo the straps himself, but Astrid beat him to it. She was much quicker than he was currently. She undid the straps and slid the leg out of Hiccup's pant leg. Almost immediatly, his leg started to feel soothed.

"That's gross!" Snotlout said.

"No worse than you sitting in class picking your nose!" Hiccup said to him. Then he gave a weak laugh. Snotlout laughed slightly too. "It's getting much better."

"Good," Astrid said again. "Now, where were we?"

Snotlout let a large sigh escape him. "I know I deserve everything I get," he said after a moment. "But-I really need a deal here. If I get convicted I think I'll end up in juvey. If I go to juvey-I know I won't be able to come back home-"

"How about I talk to my dad this evening?" Astrid asked Snotlout. "Let me ask him if there is anything that can be done. I won't promise anything, but maybe there's something you can do besides going to juvey-"

Snotlout nodded to her. "Thanks."

Hiccup sighed. His tension was disappearing. Was he finally feeling better with the whole situation with Snotlout?...No. His medicine was beginning to make him very sleepy.

"I need to get home," he said to them. "Astrid-again, you will have to drive-"

"Okay," she replied.

"I'll help you up," Snotlout replied.

...

Instead of a nice dinner with Astrid's family, Hiccup had won the rest of the day at home in his bed. His medicine was making him sleep. When he woke up and looked out the window, it was dark outside. He growled at himself. Again, he was angry he didn't get to go to Astrid's house and enjoy the company of her family and her.

Grabbing his crutch at the side of the bed, Hiccup stood up and steadied himself. His hip ached still, but it was not too bad. He knew he'd have to do some stretches later to see if he could loosen it up.

Gimping out to the kitchen, he stopped short when he looked into the living room on his way. Astrid was sitting on the couch with the old black cat, rubbing his ears as he purred on her lap. She was reading a book. The only light in the room that was on sat on the table beside her.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here," he said to her. He remained standing in the threshold. He could tell he startled her when he spoke. Her smile was slightly delayed. But, she was smiling at him.

"Glad to see you are up," she said to him, closing her book. She reached both hands towards the cat and began rubbing him gently.

"Sorry I wasted half the day sleeping," he said to her quietly.

She shook her head at him. "You can't help it."

"I know, but it still sucks," he said to her. "I figured you'd be at home with your family eating dinner."

She patted the spot beside her on the couch. "No, I thought I was needed here more."

Hiccup looked at her questionably.

"Your dad wasn't home when you went to bed. After I called him, he said he was over at Katherine's."

"Did he ask why you were calling him?" Hiccup asked.

"He did. I told him your pain had eased up and not to worry so much. To enjoy his time with her. I guess they had gone to an art museum south of here."

Hiccup nodded. "I know where he's at. He will be a while, I'd say. " He chuckled. "He and my mom used to go there once a month, walk around the museum and then go out to this mom-and-pop restaurant for dinner." He laughed slightly. "I'd forgotten that they used to do that until now."

Astrid sighed. "How are you feeling, anyways?"

"I'm-okay," Hiccup said to her. "Those pills always make me feel funny the rest of the day. Nothing unusual."

"You think if I make something to eat, you'd be able to stomach it?" she asked.

He nodded. "I've kept you from your family most of the day-but do you think you could stay and watch a movie? I can understand if not-"

"No, I told my parents I'd stay until your dad came home at least-"

Hiccup sighed. "You are babysitting me."

"Babysitting-?"

"You feed me, put me to bed, sit with me when I don't feel good-"

"Hiccup-I wouldn't call it babysitting-" Astrid said to him. She could see the look in his eye again. "Your lack of self-confidence is showing-"

Hiccup sighed. "I'm really tired of feeling like everyone has to babysit me, is all. You and Snotlout both had to help me earlier-"

"It's okay," Astrid said to him. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Let me make us something to eat, and then a movie, okay?"

He smiled at her slightly, avoiding eye contact. She was right, his lack of confidence was showing. "Okay."

...

 **I am sooo sorry for the horrible ending! I hope the next chapter gets better!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the lack there of update, guys! I have been trying to figure out how to end this story. I write as I go along...I need to plan better when I start writing. I haven't forgotten about this at all. Just trying to sort the end out in my head. I have been wanting to force Hiccup to sit and think about what is going on. I have he and Astrid so busy doing things together that I haven't let them sort out their feels too much for each other for a little while. This is what this chapter is about. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **...**

Astrid had been staring at the same math problem for what felt like eternity. She couldn't quite figure out how to even begin to solve the problem. She sighed, and looked over at her alarm clock. It was just after four. Reaching for her phone, she decided to text Hiccup.

4:07 PM - HAVE YOU DONE YOUR GEOMETRY HOMEWORK YET?

Lying her phone back down on her bed, she stood up and decided it as time to pull something on beside her pajama pants. She'd had a lazy morning and had eaten lunch before she decided to work on her homework. She pulled on a pair of jogging pants, and a team hoodie. After brushing her hair out from her shower the previous night, she pulled it back into a braid, then pulled on her shoes. As she did so, she looked over at her phone and realized Hiccup had messaged her.

4:10 PM - I DID. IT'S DONE.

She rolled her eyes, and picked up her phone and replied back.

4:14 PM - OF COURSE YOU HAVE IT DONE. DID YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH PROBLEM 41?

She threw her phone back onto her bed, and reached over and folded her homework up into her book. Placing the book into her back pack, she pulled the strap over her shoulder, and reached for her phone just as another message came through from him.

4:16 PM - UMMM...NOT THAT I CAN REMEMBER BUT I CAN HELP YOU FIGURE IT OUT.

Biting the inside of her lip, she replied back.

4:17 PM - DO YOU MIND?

4:17 PM - OF COURSE NOT, MILADY. SEE YOU SOON?

4:18 PM - I'LL BE OVER SHORTLY. OX

Heading down the stairs, she reached for the car keys on the key holder by the front door, but they weren't there. She sighed, annoyed they were not in their usual spot. She saw the car in the driveway, so she knew her mother was home.

"Mom, where's the car keys?" she called to her. That was when she heard the sink running. Her mother was working on dishes. She should have known. Sunday was usually her parents' cleaning day around the house. Heading into the kitchen, she found her mother finishing up the dishes in the sink from cleaning out the fridge before trash day tomorrow, and her father thumbing through a magazine, nursing a can of Coke.

"Mom, where're the keys?" Astrid asked her.

Her mother glanced over at her as she placed a wet dish into the dishwasher. Astrid could never understand why her mother did the dishes, and then placed them into the dishwasher. Seemed a little redundant to her.

"The keys are probably in my purse," her mother replied. "You know-it is my car. I'd like to use it every once in a while."

"Please?" Astrid asked her. "I was going to see if I could get some help on a few of these math problems?"

"And where are you going?" her mother asked her, shoving the last dish into the dishwasher.

"Probably over to see Hiccup if I had to guess." There it was. Her father chiming in.

"Yes," Astrid replied quietly. "He's already gotten the assignment done. I'm stuck."

"Give me a minute and I'll get the keys for you," her mother said. She seemed to be taking an extra long time loading the dishwasher. She was now reorganizing each rack of dishes. Not like she hadn't done that already while she was washing them and loading them in...

"I know you are used to just taking off and leaving-" her mother began to her, shoving the block of soap into the compartment. "-but you need to start asking to borrow the car more often. I might have an errand to go do and I don't have the car-"

"Speaking of that-we probably need to call that insurance company back and see what the status is on Astrid's car," her father said, turning his chair to look at them both.

"We know it's totaled," Astrid replied, crossing her arms in front of her. She felt her pocket vibrate slightly, and she resisted the urge to check it. Hiccup was probably texting her. She didn't want another lecture from them about her being on her phone too much.

"I know, but we probably need to get that settled and go find another car for you," her father said to her again. "Also, what time will you be home tonight?"

All of a sudden they were asking her questions. They rarely did this. Astrid was feeling her antsiness to leave setting into her feet. She was stepping in place a little bit, itching to just leave.

"Probably-eight-if that is okay," she said slowly. She saw the looks on both of their faces. They seemed upset and disappointed she wasn't going to be home sooner.

Her mother went to her purse that was sitting on the table and started digging through the inside of her purse. Astrid felt her pulse quicken slightly. She just wanted to leave.

"What is going on between you and this boy?" her mother asked her.

"Darcy-" her father began.

"Don't Darcy me," she said back to him, pulling the keys out of her purse. Astrid took a step to accept them, but her mother crossed her arms, keeping the keys hostage under her locked arms. "I don't know this boy-"

"Mom, you would have met him last night if-"

"If he didn't get sick again," she replied. "Is this boy unwell or what?"

"Mom, I have already explained this to you," Astrid said. "The cold is really messing with his leg. He even said having these pains twice in less than a week isn't normal. We can have him over for dinner another night. Today isn't a good day-"

"Darcy-" her father began to her. "He's a nice kid. Let up a little bit."

Astrid was thankful her father liked Hiccup. He never liked any of the guys she went to school with. Even at homecomings or small get-togethers they would let her have at the house, most of the time her father didn't like the kids. He simply tolerated Ruffnut most of the time only because he knew her parents.

"I'm just saying-" her mother began. "Astrid, you've never been around a boy so much. You know I don't want him interfering with your school work-"

"Mom, he's a straight A student," Astrid said to her. "Mr. Brice just asked him the other day to submit a story to a writing festival. Hardly anyone gets an offer from Mr. Brice like that."

Her mother shook her head at her. "Is this boy, a friend only?"

"Darcy!" her father snapped back at her. "Let Astrid go. He's a good kid. He's respectful. I've talked with his father. She will be fine."

Astrid sighed. This conversation was growing more uncomfortable. She just wanted to leave. Again, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Why couldn't she just hand over the car keys?

"Astrid, do you like this boy?" her mother asked her. Her tone had suddenly changed. She was beginning to come back down from a slightly irrational state. Astrid knew how her mother was just looking out for her best interest. She was their only child after all.

"I do," Astrid said to her.

"Like-how?" she asked.

Astrid blushed. "Mom-"

"Darcy, how about you give her the keys to the car?" he said. "She can't drive my truck. I can take you to the store later-"

"Astrid, please," her mother said to her. "Just think about it. You've been spending an awful lot of time with this boy. Does he like you back? Do you think you guys are going to date?"

"Mom-I'm sixteen!" Astrid said. "I like spending time with him. We enjoy each other's company. Right now, can I leave it at that?"

"Has he kissed you?"

Astrid turned bright red. "No, actually, he hasn't."

Her father sighed, stood up and held his hand out to his wife. "Darcy, let her go. We can talk about this later."

Her mother sighed back at him, and turned to Astrid. "Honey, I just don't want you to give up everything you have for this boy. All of your sports, your friends-"

Astrid growled under her breath. She was loosing her patience. "Mom, I have gone to track practice everyday that I have been able to since the accident. I haven't turned in bad homework, my grades are still A's. As for my friends-I really don't have that many. Hiccup isn't Snotlout, Mom. He's responsible and mature-"

"He fell off of the roof last summer-"

"Accidents happen!" Astrid yelled. She was becoming so angry at her mother she could feel the tears beginning to come to her eyes. "I didn't tell you that he made his own decision to amputate his leg, did I?"

"Astrid-" her father began.

"No!" she said. "He fell off the roof, and when they went in to try to repair the damage, they found that it was worse. Instead of operating, his father asked them to let Hiccup make the decision. They gave him options, and he chose to let them take the damaged portion. He said if he didn't he'd been doing more physical therapy-"

"So he took the easy way out-"

"Holy Thor, Mom!" Astrid said to her. "Can't you just stop an analyze? Can you put yourself into his shoes?"

"Astrid, in your mother's defense, she hasn't met Hiccup," her father said gently. He held his hand out to her again for the keys. "Darcy, when you meet him, you'll understand. I promise. I know this is hard for you. Astrid is growing up. But, once you meet Hiccup your worries will ease up for you."

"Please, Mom," Astrid said gently. "I'll be okay."

Her mother sighed, and looked defeated for a moment, then turned to her daughter and said, "I just don't want you to get hurt. Especially with all the time you've been spending with him. I'm afraid he'll-"

"Poof," Astrid said gently.

"Excuse me?" her mother said.

"You are afraid he will just 'poof.' Mom, I'll talk to Hiccup. And we can plan a dinner, maybe next weekend? Is that okay?" Astrid walked over and hugged her mother around the shoulders. "It'll be okay. I'm not your typical teenaged girl, you know that."

"I know, honey," her mother replied back. She wrapped her arms around her Astrid as best she could with the back pack still hanging off of her shoulder.

"Hiccup isn't your typical high school jock, either," Astrid said gently. She pulled away. "You'll meet him. I promise."

Her mother handed her the keys, and nodded.

"Eight-thirty," her father said suddenly. He had given Astrid a soft smile. "School night. You have your cell phone?"

"I'm a teenager, of course," she replied. She smiled at them both and turned and headed out the door before either one of them could stop her. She held her breath as she walked out into the frigid temperatures. Throwing her back pack into the back seat of the car, she closed the door, and slipped into the front seat. She took in a small breath, and backed out of the driveway, being careful as she did so.

She made it two blocks down the street before she found herself pulling over and placing the car into park. Taking in a deep breath, she felt the tears coming to her eyes, and she willed them away.

She hadn't thought much about what would happen if Hiccup did decide to stop seeing her. Her mother was pressuring her, causing her to feel worried now. He had mentioned the night he had his first phantom pain that he was scared she would leave. He had no idea what she saw in him, she knew that. She had told him he was different. He couldn't see how, and no matter how much time they spent together, he didn't really know. In fact, she couldn't really pin point the exact reason either.

Yes, he was a small, lanky kid, with a fake leg. Sure, he wasn't captain of the football team. He didn't play sports. He didn't have a whole lot of friends. But, neither did she. She had a few girls in their grade that she would go to homecoming with as a group with some of the guys. She had a few friends on the volleyball team and track team that would text her here and there to chat, but she never really let them in.

In fact, they didn't know much about her grandmother. They had no idea she had dementia and that she often forgot her birthday. They didn't know that her grandmother would make her a birthday cake about once a month to six weeks. Half the time, after a slice, the cake would end up in the trash only because her family didn't eat a whole lot of it. Each time the cake was made, Astrid always made sure to have a slice. She knew one day...Poof. Grandma wouldn't be there to make her a cake. Often times, she found herself thankful to be able to celebrate her birthday with her more often than not.

Wiping a few tears from her eyes, and reached into her pocket to look at her phone. Hiccup had sent two messages.

4:22 PM - DAD AND KATHERINE ARE HERE, FYI. BE PREPARED TO GET TO KNOW HER BETTER. *eye roll emoji*

4:42 PM - YOU OKAY?

Astrid sniffled back a few tears and typed him back.

5:01 PM - YES, OMW.

She sighed again, and swallowed. It had been a little while since he was probably expecting her. He almost always made sure that she had made it home when she left his house, and always wished her goodnight and good morning. He was so considerate. So well mannered. He didn't cuss like the other kids at school. He didn't gossip a whole lot. He was more focused on his joys of life. That was who she wanted to be. She wanted to focus more on the happiness in her life verses the negativity.

Her mother had asked her... _"Astrid, do you like this boy?"_

 _"I do._

She did. She enjoyed everything about him. She loved watching him sketch, and talk so passionately about what he loves. Yesterday on the hill she saw him light up with happiness. He couldn't wait to show her his favorite spot. It was then she understood why he chose to amputate his leg verses wait and risk not being able to move quite so much with corrective surgery and therapy. He would have lost so much freedom if he hadn't.

How would she have felt if she wasn't able to play volleyball or run? She knew sitting out on the bench for a few games was hard on herself. She loved volleyball but every season her wrist would get inflamed. Multiple times she had to get pulled or set out so that she didn't hurt the team. Many times she worked herself through the pain, doing her best to ignore it when she needed to get that ball over the net. If Hiccup couldn't go hike, she knew he would fall into a state of depression. If he couldn't sketch, how would he express himself? Of course, he could by writing, but sketching was a bigger passion he had.

Pushing the tears back again, she put the car in drive and headed towards his house. She turned the heat up higher in the car, and placed her left hand over the vent, allowing the warm air to flow down her sleeve. She didn't have far to go, but she was still freezing cold. Her mind wondered how Hiccup's leg was. She had forgotten to ask him today. Of course, she didn't want to hover over him like a mother-hen. She also didn't want to constantly bring it up. Astrid wanted him to forget that worry and live just as he was trying to do.

She stopped at a red-light. With Hiccup living on the east side of town she had to cross main street before she could get over to his house. It was the only red light between their houses. She watched traffic go by as she waited. Only a few more blocks before she would be there. She felt antsy again. Thinking of being closer to seeing him made her smile. Only a few more minutes.

The light turned green and she crossed the intersection. A few more blocks before she would be there.

Pulling up to the house, Astrid saw the little red car parked in the driveway behind Hiccup's father's car. She knew it was Katherine's. She pulled over to the curb and turned off the engine. Making sure her eyes didn't reflect the tears that were just recently in her eyes, she realized she hadn't placed on any eye make up...

But that didn't matter. Not to Hiccup. With him she didn't have to worry quite so much about her appearance. She could be herself.

Grabbing her back pack out of the car, she headed for the door. Hiccup stood there holding the screen door open for her. She could see he was using his crutch. He could see he was dressed in a hoodie and a pair of sweat pants. He gave her a kind smile, and she approached the house, feeling her shoulders relax.

"Afternoon, milady," he said quietly to her, as she walked passed him.

"Hello," she replied back.

"You made it safely," he replied to her, closing the door behind them.

She nodded to him and went to head towards the living room before she felt his hand grab her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, and her worries left instantly.

...

 **I am starting to like writing about Astrid's point of view. I almost always write about Hiccup's point of view, but lately, I am enjoying Astrid's. It makes me a little sad throughout the whole movie and mini-series we never are introduced to Astrid's parents. But, in a way I like it because I can be creative with how they are in writing about them. I really hope you guys enjoyed this update! Hopefully I can write about Hiccup here soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here are Hiccup's thoughts about what is going on with Astrid...**

 **...**

Hiccup groaned after half an hour of tossing and turning. It wasn't quite light yet. Lying there, he had to guess it was probably just after six in the morning. Turning over, he reached to the night stand for his cell phone and glanced at the clock. Sure enough, it was 6:07 AM.

"It's too early," he grumbled to himself, pulling the covers up over his head. He tried to fall back to sleep, but he simply couldn't. Pulling the covers around himself again, trying to make it feel like he was receiving a hug, he tried to fall back to sleep again.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. This wasn't working at all. He was wide awake, and he was not happy about it.

"Why am I awake at this hour on a Sunday?" he asked himself. He knew it had to be the phantom pain from the day before. He had fallen asleep half the day after taking his medication. And, after that had a lazy evening with Astrid on the couch eating popcorn and watching a movie. It had been a nice, quiet evening. But, they had barely spoken much after she made him some dinner in the kitchen. Other than saying goodnight at the door, and a quick kiss on her cheek, they hadn't talked much. He had made sure she had gotten home, and immediately fell back to sleep.

During the movie she had laid against him a little more than usual. He had taken up half the couch trying to stretch his legs out, which forced her to sit on the opposite end of him. He could tell during the movie she wasn't very comfortable, so he'd moved his legs to the floor.

"Come here," he had told her. She scooted over and leaned against him, pulling the covers up around them both. When she leaned into him, he found himself hesitating slightly. But, he put and arm around her upper body and held her close. He could smell her shampoo in her braid. Her head leaned against his shoulder, and she snuggled up. They were very cozy sitting there. He'd allowed himself to relax and enjoy the movie after that.

Hiccup pushed himself up out of the bed, grabbed his crutch, and headed to the kitchen. He poured a bowl of cereal that he knew was too big for him to stomach, but the cat would at least enjoy the extra milk once he was done getting his fill. He laughed when he looked for the cat, and realized the Toothless thing had been following him once he had heard the milk pour into the bowl.

Hiccup had a few bites before he pushed it away, realizing he wasn't eating it fast enough. The flakes had started to get soggy. Sighing, he rubbed his nub, trying to get the last of the soreness out.

He still couldn't understand why Astrid hadn't shied away from him, even after the last two weeks. He'd been in the hospital, had two phantom pains, had acquired another set of stitches, and here she was still hanging around.

Hearing footsteps approaching the kitchen, he knew his father had woken up. Made sense, it was nearly seven now. He could see the surprise on his father's face when he approached the kitchen and saw him sitting at the table. His father had on a pair of boxers and a long sleeved t-shirt.

"You are up rather early," Mr. Vast said to him.

Hiccup only nodded to him.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No," Hiccup replied quietly.

Mr. Vast opened the pantry and pulled out a box of pancake mix. This caught Hiccup's attention. His father rarely ever made pancakes.

"What's the special occasion?" Hiccup asked quietly. He saw his father stiffen when Hiccup pointed it out to him. Something was up.

"Well-" Mr. Vast turned to look at his son. "Eh-"

After a brief moment, Hiccup felt himself grow angry for a second, but he let it pass. "She's here, isn't she?"

Mr. Vast nodded, hanging his head.

"I was going to say, you haven't made pancakes in easily a year," Hiccup said. He leaned down to pick up his crutch. "Come to think of it, you weren't home when Astrid left last night and I went to bed. What time did you come home, Dad?"

"Watch your tone," Mr. Vast said to his son. "It was late. I am sorry."

Hiccup sighed. His father knew he'd had an episode yesterday afternoon. Astrid had text him, or called him, whichever, and told him. Yet, he hadn't made it home before she left. Hiccup took in a deep breath, and tried to push his anger aside. He knew he shouldn't have been angry with his father. Afterall, he was an adult. And Hiccup was sixteen. He didn't need his father taking care of him. It was embarrassing enough for Astrid to have been taking care of him the last two weeks like she was. He sighed again, realizing he was in the wrong.

"I'm sorry, too, Dad," he said quietly.

Mr. Vast turned back to Hiccup, and began to stir the pancake mix. "You all right, son?"

Hiccup nodded to him. After a moment of silence, he turned to his father. "Actually, Dad, I am a little confused."

He saw his father's expression perk up a little bit. His father then set the mixing bowl down on the counter, crossed his arms, and leaned against it. "What is troubling you?"

It took Hiccup a moment to find the words. But, he did. "Astrid-she makes me nervous sometimes."

"She does?" his father said quietly. "But-"

"I mean-it's not a bad nervous. I think-I think I get nervous because-I am afraid she is going to disappear like Mom did-"

Mr. Vast let out a breath. "You can't compare that girl to your mother. She is not your mother. That is not fair-"

"Dad-she disappeared on me when I was a kid. For years I thought it was because I was too weak, too-artsy, to clumsy from the very beginning-"

His father crossed the kitchen and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, stopping him from going any farther. A moment passed between them before he spoke to Hiccup again.

"Your mother did not leave because of you-she left because of me." Hiccup eyed him questionably. "We were having some differences of opinion for a while. I wanted to put you in sports. She said you would have gotten trampled on-"

"I probably would have-" Hiccup laughed at him.

"That doesn't matter," his father said. "We both wanted you happy. We wanted what we both felt was best for you. Hiccup-she left because of me. I wasn't the best husband. I didn't respect her wishes-and I didn't respect her. She shut down, and I didn't pick her back up."

"Where did she go, Dad?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," he replied. "Out west I believe. Last I heard from her, she was traveling around the country." Mr. Vast looked at his son with sincere eyes. "I'm sorry she took off. If I could change it, I would."

"You haven't heard from her at all?" Hiccup asked him.

"Not since you were probably five or six years old. Know that she loved you. She did. But, it was me she couldn't deal with."

Hiccup sighed, and felt his father remove his hand from his shoulder after a minute. It wasn't exactly the answer he was looking for when it came down to his mother, but it was more than he had in a long time. He decided to leave it at that.

"Now, you said you are confused about Astrid. Why are you afraid she will just disappear?"

"Look at me, Dad," he said to him, gesturing to himself. "I'm not exactly the quarter back of the football team-"

"And she isn't the head cheerleader at school either, now is she?" he said to him. He turned back to his pancakes and began mixing them up with the whisk again. "So, what is your problem?"

"What exactly do you think she sees in me?"

His father looked at him for a moment. "Have you asked her?"

"No, I haven't," Hiccup said back. Then, he thought about earlier in the week when he'd had his first phantom pain around her. "She told me earlier this week that her worries seem to disappear when she's around me."

"She's comfortable with you," her father said to him. "Hiccup, you saw her at her worst a few weeks ago-"

"How?" Hiccup asked.

"Think about it, son," Mr. Vast replied. "You saw her when she was absolutely terrified in that accident. You helped her stay calm until the right help arrived. Hiccup, you scared me that day. I'd never seen you so-focused. You wanted to help her. That's something she won't forget."

"Dad-be real."

"I am being real," his father said back to him. "You saw her at her most terrifying moment. You mistakenly hurt yourself trying to help her. She was worried about you all weekend, enough to come see you to make sure you were okay."

"Dad-what are you getting at?"

"You kids think you have to be macho and look cool in school. Take Snotlout for example. He thinks he had to show off and act like a jerk just to get someone to look his way. You and Astrid on the other hand-that isn't the case. You both saw each other at weak moments in your lives. And, during those weak moments, you supported each other. You experienced something traumatic together. That experience has brought you close together."

Hiccup sighed. "Dad, I was just doing something that felt right at the time."

"Yes, and I am proud of you for doing that. Even though I asked you to go inside, you stayed put."

Hiccup realized he was leaning heavily on his crutch. He decided to sit down at the table, and his father took a seat across from him. He remained silent for a moment, then turned to his father again.

"I remember falling off the roof this summer," Hiccup said. "Outside of you, I didn't have anyone. I didn't want that for her-"

"And I didn't want that for you, Hiccup," his father said to him. "I made a mistake the day I forgot to pick you up from the hospital. It's something I will always have to live with myself for."

Hiccup laughed slightly. "I was so ticked at you-"

"You were. And I had a difficult time facing you that next morning. Again, I am sorry."

"Astrid helped pass the time, Dad. Looking back, it wasn't so bad."

Mr. Vast smiled gently through his red beard at his son.

"Dad-when I fell off the roof, I was terrified. And when the choice came down to me deciding whether or not to try to save my leg or to let it go-that was scary-"

Mr. Vast nodded. "Hiccup-what you need to do is look past your outer appearance. And look at what is here-" He pointed to his head. "-and in here." He placed his hand over his chest. "You have more to offer than you give yourself credit for. Look past what you think you can't offer, and look at what you can."

Hiccup smiled. "She did look like she was having a good time when we were hiking yesterday."

"Had she ever been up there before?"

Hiccup shook his head. "No. And when she passed the arch, you could see the calmness spread across her face-her anxiety seemed to just disappear-"

"Hiccup, think about what that place gives to you. Don't you think that is what you do for each other?"

It took Hiccup a moment to digest what his father had said. "Actually, that does make sense."

Mr. Vast smiled. "Now, how about you join Katherine and I for some pancakes. I think you'll learn to actually like her if you give her a proper chance."

Hiccup sighed. Deep down, he knew he really needed to give her a chance.

...

After having breakfast with Katherine, Hiccup excused himself from the table, explaining he had some homework he needed to finish before school the next day. Closing his door to his bedroom, he sat down and did his school work. Within an hour all of his homework was completed. He decided he needed to take a shower as he hadn't had one since yesterday morning. He could still feel the sweat and grime from walking in the woods on his skin. His hair was a greasy mess. The hot shower felt great, and afterwards he decided he would doodle some.

Sitting down outside on the porch, he felt slightly cold, but he needed the fresh air. Pulling his sketch pad up to himself, he found a blank page. He needed to start a new challenge. The question was, what?

"You'll catch cold out here," he heard a soft voice say to him. Glancing up, he realized it was Katherine. She had a blanket made of yarn folded up in her hands. She walked over and placed it on the stone block he sat on in front of him. "In case you need this."

Hiccup glanced at it for a moment. It was made in their school colors, and it looked old. "I don't recognize that."

"It's one of mine from when I was in school. My grandmother made it for me for my senior year. It has seen better days, but it still does it's job. I don't go too far without it."

"Thank you," Hiccup said to her gently.

"You are welcome," Katherine said quietly, and she turned to head back into the house.

Hiccup glanced at the blanket for a moment, then said, "Katherine?"

She had just opened the screen door to go back inside. "Yes?"

"I-I'm sorry," Hiccup said to her. "I haven't really been giving you a fair chance."

Katherine shut the door gently, wrapped her arms around herself, and walked back towards Hiccup. She met his eyes. "It's okay," she said. "It's not easy when your parent isn't seeing your other parent. I've been through it myself. My father met my step-mom when I was fifteen, and I made the woman go through Valhalla and back. I am patient. I'm just glad you are giving me a chance."

Hiccup smiled gently.

"What are you sketching?" she asked him.

Hiccup tilted the blank sheet over to her. "I haven't decided just yet."

She cocked her head sideways slightly. "Have you ever drawn flowers before?"

Hiccup bit the inside of his lip. "Not exactly-"

"Your father bought me a rose last night before we went to dinner. I have a picture of it saved on my phone. Would you want to try?"

She held out her phone after finding the picture and showed it to him. Hiccup looked at it, honestly just trying to humor her for a moment, but he found himself lost in the shadowing suddenly. "Yes, yes, can you send it to me?" He reached for his cell phone in his pocket. "What's your number?"

In the corner of his eye, she could see the surprise on her face when he asked. He smiled slightly to himself, enjoying her shock.

...

Hiccup wrapped himself up in the blanket about an hour later to keep warm. He sketched away on his pad, looking at his phone while he did. He wished he had a real version to look at, but this would do for now. He found himself lost in the pedals. Never once did he think sketching a flower would make him pay special attention to the little details of the shading on a flower. After a little while, he knew he needed the charcoal set Astrid had bought for him.

He gimped into the house with the blanket over his shoulder. After folding it neatly, he headed towards his bedroom and sat down with his charcoal set. Just as he was starting to work on the pedals with a piece, Astrid had text him.

10:13 AM - ARE YOU AWAKE SLEEPY HEAD?

He felt himself smile slightly, and he picked up the phone to text her back.

10:14 AM - I'M THE SLEEPY HEAD? I'VE BEEN UP FOR THE LAST 3 PLUS HOURS.

10:16 AM - WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?

10:17 AM - SKETCHING.

10:18 AM - OH! I'LL LET YOU BE. I HAVE HOMEWORK I NEED TO GET DONE.

10:18 AM - WILL I SEE YOU LATER TODAY?

10:19 AM - ABSOLUTELY. AFTER HOMEWORK.

...

It was almost four in the afternoon before Hiccup knew it. And the rose was complete. He smiled at the drawing, pretty pleased with himself on how it came out. It was then that he realized he was hungry. Like, famished hungry. He really needed to get something to eat.

He went into the kitchen, and laid his phone down on the table. He gimped his way over to the fridge, and began digging through the fridge. The only think he found even remotely appetizing was an apple. Now, he just needed to see if they had a jar of peanut butter anywhere. Sure enough, there was a jar in the cabinet.

Heading back to the table, he realized Astrid had text him.

4:07 PM - HAVE YOU DONE YOUR GEOMETRY HOMEWORK YET?

He went to text her, but realized he forgot to grab a knife to cut the apple. He text her back quickly.

4:10 PM - I DID. IT'S DONE.

Lying his phone back down, he grabbed a knife and a plate and headed back towards the table. He began cutting the apple into slices. Grabbing a slab of peanut butter, he spread it over the slice, and took a bite. Astrid text him again.

4:14 PM - OF COURSE YOU HAVE IT DONE. DID YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES with PROBLEM 41?

He thought for a moment. He honestly couldn't remember. Did he even do it right? Astrid rarely had issues doing her math homework. She seemed better at it half the time than he did.

4:16 PM - UMMM...NOT THAT I CAN REMEMBER BUT I CAN HELP YOU FIGURE IT OUT.

4:17 PM - DO YOU MIND?

Was she being serious? Did he mind? He rolled his eyes.

4:17 PM - OF COURSE NOT, MILADY. SEE YOU SOON?

4:18 PM - I'LL BE OVER SHORTLY. OX

Hiccup spread another slab of peanut butter over a second slice of apple. The peanut butter helped to eliminate the sourness of the apple. As he chewed, he stared off into space.

"Hey, Hiccup!" his father called from the living room.

"No, don't bother him!"

Katherine. He had almost forgotten she was still there.

"Yeah?" Hiccup called out.

"Does Astrid know how to play euchre?"

Really? Oh, no.

"I-I'm not sure."

"The four of us are playing euchre tonight," his father yelled back.

Hiccup sighed and headed towards the living room on his crutch. He looked into the living room, and saw his father shuffling through a few drawers in the side tables.

"What if Astrid doesn't know how to play euchre?" Hiccup asked him. He could see Katherine was sitting on the couch watching him shuffle through junk in the drawers. "Katherine, do you know how to play?"

"I do," she said with a smile. "It's one of my favorite games!"

It was actually one of Hiccup's too, but outside of his father and a few of his guy friends, Hiccup never really had anyone to play with.

"If Astrid doesn't know how to play, we will teach her. When is she coming over?" his father asked. Just then, he pulled out a desk of cards.

Hiccup sighed. "What makes you think she's even coming over?"

"She comes over all the time now. You can't tell me she isn't."

hiccup sighed. "Fine! She will be here soon." With that he headed back towards the kitchen and picked up his phone. Honestly, he knew he'd better warn her

4:22 PM - DAD AND KATHERINE ARE HERE. FYI. BE PREPARED TO GET TO KNOW HER BETTER *eye roll emoji*

Hiccup decided to take a seat and enjoy his apple and peanut butter while he had the chance. He coated the third slice with peanut butter again, and took a large bite, practically placing the whole slice into his mouth. Just then, Katherine walked into the kitchen.

"Who's team do you want to be on?" she asked him. She made eye contact with him, and he almost choked on his apple when she did. He wasn't expecting her to make eye contact with him. She chuckled at him slightly, and went to the sink to dump out a cold mug of coffee. "Sorry, caught you with your mouth full."

Hiccup recovered and swallowed. "I probably need to be on Astrid's team for a little while at least. In case she doesn't know how to play."

Katherine nodded. "How'd that rose turn out?"

Hiccup found himself smiling slightly. "I admit-I'm pretty impressed with how it came out. I am going to need to draw roses more often-"

"It's what I drew when I was in art school-"

Hiccup paused for a moment, and really looked at her. "You were in art school?!"

Katherine nodded and began filling up the dish washer. "For two years before I changed my major to finance-"

"Big difference!" Hiccup said.

"It is-but when I got pregnant in college, I knew I needed to do something else to bring some money in for the baby and I."

"I didn't know you had a child," Hiccup said to her.

"I do. Her name is Heather. She's in her first year in college."

Hiccup nodded. "You'll have to show me some of your work."

"I'd love to," Katherine replied to him, then took her leave out of the room.

Hiccup became worried about Astrid when twenty minutes had passed and she hadn't responded to his text message. He sent her another one.

4:42 PM - YOU OKAY?

After a few minutes of waiting, he went to get his sketch pad. He wanted to show his new piece to Katherine. For once, he was excited to sit down and talk to her about something. He gathered up his charcoal set as well, and headed out to the living room. She was curled up under her blanket she had let him borrow before. He hobbled towards her and sat down on the opposite end of the couch. He felt her looking at him curiously, and she shifted in her seat to face him.

"Here..."

...

"Oh, wait, that's Astrid," Hiccup said to Katherine. "Sorry, do you mind waiting for just a second? That's Astrid that just pulled up. Don't move!"

He heard Katherine laugh at him as he stood up to go to the door to let her inside. He caught a glimpse of his father smiling his direction. He knew his father was happy to see them bonding.

He watched her on the porch, holding the screen door open for her. She was gathering up her book bag. When she turned and was heading into their direction, he couldn't help but smile again. His day was going decently, and just seeing her approach, it was about to get better.

"Afternoon, milady," he said quietly to her. He didn't want his father or Katherine to hear him call her that. It was something he only said to her (of course). He thought it was strange that Astrid didn't really acknowledge him when she approached other than a "Hello." He closed the door behind him, shuffling his foot around as he did so with his crutch. "You made it safely."

She nodded to him and went to head towards the living room. Why wasn't she looking at him. She seemed somewhat distracted. Reaching forward, he grabbed her hand into his own, and gave it a gentle squeeze. He leaned in and kissed her cheek quickly. It was then that he tasted salt on her cheeks. She had been crying, but why? He felt his heart begin to race. Panic set in.

"Astrid, are you okay?" he asked her, making her look directly up to him. He placed a hand against her face gently, and she nodded giving him a soft smile. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she replied quietly. Giving him another weak smile, and turned away, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the living room.

It was obvious to him she wasn't ready to talk about it, or because she knew Katherine and his dad were right there, she wouldn't talk about it. Instead, she headed inside the house. He planned on talking to her. He had to know what was troubling her.

...

 **This didn't exactly go the way I had planned it, but I thought it was rather cute to write. I wanted Hiccup to stop pushing Katherine away. And I wanted some of Astrid's story to meet up with Hiccup's. Plus, I needed to set the stage for the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this! Which POV was your favorite to read?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sooooo...I know of a few people that want some more Astrid POVs...However, I wanted to go back to Hiccup again. I do enjoy writing Astrid's POV, and I have before in my very first story "The Stone Crumbles." That story still isn't finished. Sadly, I am not sure if I will ever finish it. I was having some difficulty writing in the last few chapters I posted there. If you get a chance, check it out, let me know what direction I can go in. When I get too many characters involved in a story I tend to lose track of where they are and what is going on.**

 **I have had a few people ask me where the twins have been at. And, Fishlegs has only made ONE real appearance in this story. I don't do well writing humor, especially dopey humor the twins have. I try, I really do, but it just doesn't even seem funny to me. I LOVE them in the series and movies, though! Hopefully one day I can change that.**

 **I'm approaching what I think is going to be the ending soon. Just FYI. If you guys want to give me some ideas for the next story that would be great! This is my stress reliever most evenings. I LOVE to write! I've been writing since I was about eight, and growing up I did fantasize of publishing a book or two some day. Here's hoping!**

 **Okay, onto the next chapter!**

 **...**

Hiccup found himself eyeing Astrid for the next two hours. Even though his father and Katherine didn't seem to notice, but he knew she had been crying before she came over to the house. That troubled him. And she wouldn't even shed some light as to why she had been. She was playing it off, and if it really was still bothering her, she didn't let it show. She didn't wear her emotions on a sleeve very easily.

"Wait, that's the left bar, Astrid," Katherine said to her. "To take that trick you needed the right, this one."

Even though Astrid had never played euchre she had caught on after a couple of hands. The most confusing thing for her was figuring out which bar was dominate from time to time, which did cost she and Katherine a few hands. Katherine didn't mind, however. She and Astrid seemed to be enjoying each other's company. Which, Hiccup had to admit himself, she was a pretty nice woman.

"We won!" Astrid cried suddenly. Hiccup had been on autopilot the last few hands. He didn't realize until Astrid's voice yelled excitedly that they had been in the barn to win.

"Two wins out of three for us!" Katherine said, high-fiving her. "Awesome job!"

"Can we play some more?" Astrid asked.

"Wait-" Hiccup said, stopping her. He glanced at his phone. "Astrid, it's after seven. Didn't you say you needed help with that math problem?" He watched Astrid's face fall slightly, and she nodded to him. "Dad, do you care if we go back to my room?"

Mr. Vast eyed Hiccup and Astrid for a moment. He watched his father's expression soften, and he nodded. "Just for tonight."

Hiccup nodded, and stood up with the assistance of his crutch. He waved Astrid towards his room as he carefully moved himself between the couch and the table.

"You kids want a pizza?" his father asked suddenly.

"Sure!" Hiccup called, and he grabbed Astrid's hand and led her down to his room. "Just cheese for me please."

"Astrid-what would you like?" Katherine asked. Hiccup suddenly felt annoyed. Why were they stalling? It was a school night. Her parents were going to want her home soon. Not only did he need to help her with the math problem, but he wanted to know why she was upset before she came over.

"Ummm-I'll eat anything, really!" Suddenly Hiccup pulled on her arm harder and she stumbled down the hallway with him.

Once they were in his room, he closed the door most of the way. He felt Astrid eye him intently. He sat down at the head of the bed, pulling the blankets behind him so that they had an open space to work on homework. He reached over for his bag, purposely ignoring her death glare, and pulled out his own math book and turned to their homework.

"So, what problem did you say you had?" he asked her.

She seemed a little stunned when he asked this, but she pulled her bag closer to herself, pulled the book out and flipped to the page. "Forty-one."

...

"Pizza!" Mr. Vast called twenty minutes later.

"We will be in," Hiccup yelled back.

"So that answer is zero?" Astrid asked him.

"Yes."

"I still don't get it," she replied to him.

Hiccup shrugged at her. "I'm sorry, I don't know how else to explain it to you." He tried to meet her eyes, but she looked away. For an instant, he thought he saw a few tears in them.

"Hiccup!"

"Hold on!" Hiccup yelled back. He glanced at his watch. It was nearly eight. "What time did you need to get home again?"

"Eight-thirty."

"Let's go on a walk," he said to her, standing up from the bed. He tottered to his closet, and opened the door.

"Hiccup, it's less than forty degrees out-and you want to go for a walk? What about your leg?"

"What about it he asked?" He felt a twinge of annoyance go through him.

"Well, I could see you rubbing it under the blanket earlier," she replied. "I don't know if you want to really go for a walk if it's bothering you-"

"Fine!" he said. "A drive, then." He pulled out a hoodie and pulled it over his shoulders. When he turned back to her, he saw a look of fear on her face. Had he just yelled at her? He didn't think so, but he did realize he was short with her. "I'm sorry, Astrid."

"It's okay," she said gently. "I don't mean to be a mother-hen. I'm just-"

"Worried about me," he said gently to her. He gave her a weak smile, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek gently. He pulled back and looked at her eyes. "It's just-I really want to talk to you-without any distractions here if that is okay."

She looked at him. She didn't seem very convinced at his request.

"Please, Astrid," he said to her. "Please." He could hear the plea in his own voice.

"Okay," she said gently.

"Good," he said. "Now, turn around while I get out of these pajama pants and into something more appropriate."

She laughed and turned her back to him while he changed, feeling her face go slightly red

"Are you going to wear your prosthetic?" she asked as she heard him messing with his belt.

"Probably just the crutch, honestly," he said. A sigh escaped him as he placed his hand against the wall to support himself while he pulled his shoe on. He felt slightly ashamed she had to be seen with him with a crutch. He reached over to his nightstand and grabbed a few safety pins to support the folds in his leg. It was then that she turned and watched him.

After a few moments, he said, "This isn't something I do very often anymore. Just easier-"

"It's okay," she said to him gently.

"Hiccup!" his father called from the kitchen again. "Pizza is getting cold."

Hiccup growled and looked at his phone. He sighed. "Astrid, I'm sorry, but I don't know if we will get to go for that ride. Look at the time-"

"It's fine," she said to him, reaching for her back pack. She pulled it over her shoulder. "I can be late. It's not a problem."

"Your dad is going to hate me-"

"He won't!" she said to him, pulled the door open. "Let's go for that drive. I'll just tell him I lost track of time."

...

Leaving the house without eating pizza with his father and Katherine, Hiccup felt bad. He'd have to probably explain to his father later why, but if he didn't ask, he wasn't going to tell him. He and Astrid sat in silence as she drove around for a few minutes, but shortly there after they ended up at the duck pond in the park. When she put the car in park, he heard her sigh.

"Something is bothering you," he said to her.

"I'm fine-"

"No!" Hiccup said to her. He turned himself around towards her in his seat, bending his left leg up to rest it. "You aren't fine. When you came over earlier you showed up late-and you were teary-eyed. Astrid-did something happen before you left home? Is your grandmother okay?"

Astrid put her hand up to stop him from speaking more. She wouldn't make eye contact with him. After a moment, she said again, "I'm fine."

"Astrid, please!" Hiccup said. "Something happened. Was it concerning Snotlout?"

"No-"

"What about your grandmother-"

"No!" she said to him.

"Then what is it?" Hiccup asked again, reaching for her hand, but she pulled away. He suddenly felt very hurt that she pulled away from him. Pausing, he took in a deep breath and let it out, and turned away from her. Was he going about this all wrong? Was he just supposed to ignore her feelings? No, he couldn't. But, is that what she wanted him to do? Thor, he didn't know what to do. He placed his hands behind his head, trying to think.

"It isn't anything I want to talk about," Astrid said to him. "Things are fine-"

"Why do I get the impression they aren't?" Hiccup asked her.

"You are reading too far into things-"

"Astrid, it's because I care," Hiccup said. "If I didn't I wouldn't ask."

"I know-" she said to him. She leaned back in her seat. He could see she was trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. "Please, trust me when I say things are okay."

Hiccup sighed, and placed his hands into his lap. He looked down at them, studying them for a few moments. He wanted to reach out and touch her, even hold her if he had to. But, is that what she wanted? She had pulled back before. He didn't want that rejection again.

A few moments went by, and Astrid turned the heat up in the car, holding her hands over the vents again. She didn't make eye contact with Hiccup, although he turned her direction. Her eyes seemed to be fixated on something outside the car. He tried to figure it out. All he could think of was she was staring at pole or a duck moving in the pond.

"My mom was worried about me tonight," she finally said to him. "She seemed concerned I was getting-wrapped up into you."

"Did she actually say that?" he asked her.

"No-" Astrid replied. "-not like that." She took in and let out a deep breath. "I haven't had to fight with her like this before-"

"You were fighting with her about me?" he asked. He felt alarmed. "Astrid, I don't expect you to fight with your family to see me. If you are, please, don't-"

"It isn't like that, Hiccup," she replied to him. "Mom-hasn't met you, hasn't seen you. She only understands what I've told her-what my dad has told her. She's drawing her own conclusions and thoughts-"

"What does she think?" Hiccup asked.

"She's just worried-"

"I get that," Hiccup said to Astrid. "Why is she worried? I mean, you know I'm not going to hurt you."

Astrid sighed again. "It isn't like that."

Hiccup felt like this conversation wasn't going anywhere. He was becoming a little flustered. "Astrid, don't give me the honey-"

"What she asked?"

"You keep giving me a softer version of what happened," Hiccup said to her. "Don't spare my feelings if it needs spoken."

Astrid sighed. "Hiccup, it isn't important at all. Mom just needs to meet you. My dad really likes you. My mom just hasn't met you and it concerns her and-"

"What concerns her?" Hiccup asked her. "There's something you aren't telling me Astrid."

"It isn't important-Mom just needs to meet you to understand-"

Hiccup felt his blood boiling. He was tired of her repeating herself. There was something she was obviously hiding from him. Something she didn't want to tell him. He held back a little, knowing his tone would give him away if he spoke too soon. He placed his hand to the back of his neck, and thought.

"I'm sorry I wasn't physically able to come over and meet your mother yesterday," Hiccup said to her. That was all he said. No more, no less.

"It's okay," Astrid said. "Eventually, you can."

"How about we go meet her now?" Hiccup said. "I'll follow you home, meet her and leave. I won't stay long-" He looked at the time on the radio. It was just now 8:30. "C'mon-let's go-"

"No," Astrid said. "It's-it's too late."

Hiccup tilted his head a little bit. He looked down at his leg, and looked into the back seat of the car. He saw the shadow of his crutch in the seat. It suddenly dawned on him...Or so he thought. What if he was wrong?

"Astrid, you don't want me meeting your mom like this, do you?"

"Like what?" she asked him.

"Like this!" he said, noting his tone when he spoke. He gestured to his leg. "Am I right?"

She sighed at him, and he saw the tears in her eyes. He was right.

"Oh," he said gently. He had hoped he had been wrong. He felt like his insides were caving in. A pit had started in his stomach. After a moment, he pulled the seat belt back over his shoulder. Another moment past, and he felt both angry and sad suddenly. "Astrid, could you please take me home?"

"Hiccup-"

"It's late," he said gently to her. "You won't be home too late if you take me home now."

"Hiccup-"

"Please," he said to her again. "Just take me home."

"No-" she said to him.

"Yes!" he said back to her, refusing to look at her.

"Hiccup, I-"

"I can't change who I am, Astrid," he said to her. "I can't just blink and my leg be back on me."

"I'm not asking you to change!" Astrid said to him. He could hear the fear and sorrow in her voice. "When did I ask you to change?"

"You didn't," he replied back. "But, right now, you can't accept this." He placed his hand on his leg. "Please, take me home."

"No!"

Hiccup reached over and unbuckled his seat belt. Apparently he had moved to swift, and of course he had reached in her direction to push the button. Astrid had jolted backwards suddenly. Seeing a small hint of fear cross her face in the shadows nearly killed him. Arguing and scaring her was one of the last things he wanted to do. He opened the car, and pushed himself out.

"Hiccup-where-"

Opening the back door, he leaned in and reached for his crutch. He pulled it out and placed it under his arm, shutting the door.

"Head on home," Hiccup said to her.

"No, what are you-"

"Go home!" he said to her. He was not yelling, but his tone was forceful.

"Are you insane?" she asked him, and he shut the car door and headed towards his house.

"Hiccup!"

Behind him he heard the car door shut again, and her footsteps behind him. Not looking back, he kept going. He realized he should have brought both crutches with him then. Getting home on one was not going to be easy. Luckily, he was only about five blocks from home.

"Hiccup, get back in the car," Astrid said, walking beside him.

"No-" he said.

"We need to talk about this," Astrid pleaded.

"I'm going home," Hiccup said to her.

"Please, stop!"

Hiccup continued on down the sidewalk doing his best to ignore her. His blood was boiling the more he thought about it. The more she pleaded, the more she asked to come back to the car and talk. At this point, he didn't want to talk about it. He simply just wanted to go home.

"Hiccup, please come back to the car," Astrid said to him. She had grabbed his hand to stop him this time, and when she did he lost his footing, tripped over the uneven sidewalk, and tumbled sideways. He felt his shoulder pull when he hit the ground. He could feel the coldness of the earth underneath him. Hearing Astrid gasp, he felt her hand on his side. "Hiccup-"

"I'm fine-" he said to her, turning over off of his side, and sitting on his rear. He pulled away from her touch, rolled up his sleeve, opened up the wrap and checked his stitches in his arm. They were fine. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hiccup-"

Turning back to her, his face met her's, and for the first time since they arrived at the park they were looking at each other. He could see the tears in her eyes, and a few had streamed down her face. She reached her hand up to his face, and this time he didn't pull away. He felt her wiping the dirt off of his cheek from the fall.

"Are you sure you are okay?" she asked him gently.

He nodded to her, and turned and looked away. It was obvious he wasn't going to be getting home this way. Not alone.

A moment passed, and she hadn't spoken, nor had he. They both were lost in their own thoughts for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Astrid said to him. He could hear her voice crack just as a sob was escaping her throat. "I'm sorry-"

"It's okay," Hiccup said to her. He didn't reach out to her to try to comfort her. Given a different situation, he would have in a heart beat. He didn't want her upset or hurt. He wanted to be the person that helped her through her inner struggles. But, right now, with what had just happened, he couldn't. He felt ashamed of himself. Any bit of confidence he had inside him had vanished.

"Hiccup-my mom and I got into it at home tonight," she said to him. "She's worried-"

"I get that," he said back to her. "She doesn't want you with someone like me-"

"I didn't say that!" Astrid said to him.

"You don't want me meeting her like this-" Hiccup said to her, gesturing to himself. "Not without my leg-not without looking normal-"

"It isn't like that-" she said to him. Her voice cracked again.

"Than what is it?" he asked her. "Up until just five minutes ago, I had accepted myself like this. I made this decision because I thought it was in my best interest. My dad allowed me to make this decision because I was the one that had to live with my leg being like this." He sighed again. "I was okay. I really was. I thought you had accepted it. You didn't shy away from it. But, back in the car-" He shook his head. He was becoming emotional, more emotional than he wanted to show. "You know what, it doesn't matter now-" He reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Hiccup-"

"Just let me be, Astrid," he said to her. He pushed on his recent calls icon, and found his father's name in his recent contacts. He pushed on it, letting it dial, and he called his father. For three rings, he held his breath. But, the phone clicked, and his father was on the other end.

"Hiccup?" his father said.

"Dad, could you come pick me up?" Hiccup asked him.

"Uh-yeah-where are you?"

"Hiccup," Astrid said to him. He wouldn't look at her.

"I'm at the park, by the pond. Close to the basketball courts."

"Yeah, sure thing," Mr. Vast said to him. "Be there in a few."

"Thanks." With that, Hiccup hung up.

"Hiccup, please," Astrid pleaded to him.

"No!" he said to her. He looked at her, and he knew his eyes held anger. "I'm done, Astrid! This argument is over!"

"Hiccup, I-"

"No!" he said to her. He reached for his crutch and helped himself up to his foot. He leaned on it heavily. Stretching his shoulder out, he realized it would be tender tomorrow, but that was okay. No real damaged had been done to it.

"Please-" she said again.

Hiccup shook his head at her. "Please let me be." He turned away from her again, and started his way down the sidewalk, this time using his light on his phone to guide his way. He didn't hear her following him. He didn't turn back around either. He kept his pace for a moment or so, before he heard a car door shut behind him. Then, a moment later, he saw the car pass by him on the road. She had left.

He sat down on the bench a few yards away. He leaned heavily on his crutch where he sat, letting out a deep breath. It took all he had to hold his emotions inside. But, it was growing harder to do so.

His father's car pulled up and stopped against the curb. Hiccup stood up and headed towards it. He realized Katherine was not inside it as he approached. His father had gotten out of the car to come towards him.

"What happened?" Mr. Vast asked him. He looked around them, and Hiccup knew he was looking for the car Astrid had been driving. "Are you okay?" His voice was softer this time.

Hiccup nodded to his father.

"Where's Astrid?" Mr. Vast asked him.

Hiccup looked up and him and sighed. Looking away, he said. "Poof."

...

 **So this was my longest chapter yet I do believe. I know it's a lot of back and forth, them saying the same things to each other. But, isn't that what we do sometimes when we argue, especially when we don't really want to talk about our worries or insecurities.**

 **So, what do you guys think? By the way, this was NOT planned at all. Just kind of came out this way.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I wrote most of this last night RIGHT AFTER I posted the last update. I kept getting an error while I was trying to save it to the site, so the upload was later than it should have been, but I am sooo thankful that the team was able to fix the issue on a Sunday so quickly. I had a lot of fun writing this one.**

 **I had a great time writing this one. Please let me know what you think...**

 **...**

Hiccup's nightmares had returned the same night after the fight. Each nightmare was the same, yet a little bit different. Sometimes, it would start out pleasently with him sketching on the roof. Other times, he would immediatly be on the ground experiencing the pain of breaking his leg, calling for his father inside the house. He would see his father's shadow and recognize the sound of his voice as he called for an ambulance.

His nightmare's were exhausting him, and in turn also his father. Sleep in the Vast household was very limited over the past three days. Hiccup hadn't been in school because of them. He heard his father tell Katherine, "Last time his nightmares were no where near this bad." His father was right, they weren't. They weren't this vivid, nor this detailed. They had evolved.

It was now early Thursday morning. Hiccup had woken himself up screaming again after another nightmare. Bolting up, he nearly toppled over in his bed. Taking in deep breaths, he registered the cold sweat on his body when he felt the chill run through his spine. His hair was soaked in his sweat. His white t-shirt was drenched at the collar.

Hiccup was trying to even out his breathing when he heard footsteps down the hall. The pit of his stomach was getting bigger. Again, he had woken up his father and again it was the middle of the night. He knew little sleep would come to both of them. Hiccup felt guilty knowing he was costing his father some valuable sleep to help him make it through his work day. Sighing, he wanted until his father entered the room.

Mr. Vast pushed the door open farther, allowing in some light from the hallway. He leaned against the doorway for a moment. Hiccup watched him rub the back of his own neck, and hear him sigh gently.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said to him, breaking the silence after a moment.

"No reason to be," his father replied back. Taking a seat across from Hiccup on the bed, he reached up a hand and held it against Hiccup's forehead, feeling how damp he was. "You are getting worse-"

"I'll be okay," Hiccup promised.

"How about I call your doctor?" Mr. Vast asked.

Hiccup shook his head at him. "Please, don't." He took in a shakey breath. "This will pass."

"Hiccup-you are getting less and less sleep as the nights progress by," his father said to him. "You are starting to make yourself sick-"

"Don't-please," Hiccup said, hearing the plea in his own voice. He wasn't expecting it to come out so pathetic.

"Hiccup-"

"I'm begging you, don't." His voice was breaking.

Suddenly he felt his father's strong arms embrace him, and he felt the tears rolling down his own cheeks. He was trying hard not to cry or sob. He didn't want to cry. He was sixteen, afterall. He knew his exhaustion was contributing to his weakened state. Feeling his father rub the back of his head gently, he tried to relax.

"C'mon, lay on back," Mr. Vast instructed. He helped him relax against his pillows. He felt his son's forehead again. "This is worse than usual-"

"It'll pass-" Hiccup said to him again.

Mr. Vast sighed. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

Even though Hiccup didn't want his father to leave him, he allowed him to. He pulled the blanket that had been covering him up closer, trying to stay warm.

His father returned again with a thermometer, and he urged Hiccup to place it under his tongue. He brought in another blanket, Katherine's blanket and laid it acrossed him on the bed. Hiccup furrowed his eye brows at him, questioning why.

"Katherine said this should keep you warm," Mr. Vast said.

They waited in silence for another few minutes, before the thermometer beeped. Hiccup went to take it out himself before his father could grab it, but his father had been ready. He snatched it up and read it.

"Just as I thought," his father replied. "You've got a fever-"

"How high?" Hiccup asked him.

He could tell his father didn't want to answer that question. "It's over 102." There was a brief pause. "Does your leg hurt at all?"

Hiccup shook his head and let out another sigh. He could feel himself shaking, and he pulled the blankets closer. "No-it's fine. I promise."

"What about your arm? Have you been remembering to take your antibiotics?"

Hiccup nodded again. "I finished the last bit on Monday."

"Then you shouldn't have a fever," Mr. Vast said to him. He was clearly stumped as to why Hiccup had a fever. Yet, he had been getting very little sleep.

"Dad, what's wrong with me?" Hiccup asked him. His voice was quivering.

"Easy, easy," Mr. Vast said to him, rubbing his shoulder. "I don't know. I'm going to get you some medication. I'll be back."

Hiccup was left alone again. He leaned himself foreward, allowing himself to remain hunched over. He pulled the blankets up closer, continuing to feel cold. He remembered the shirt on his back was still soaked in sweat. He pulled it off, threw it to the floor, and attemped to cover himself up better. He hoped that would help control his shivering.

Returning, Mr. Vast held two pills and a glass of water out to Hiccup.

"I'm sorry-" Hiccup said again, becoming emotional again.

"Shhhhh-" his father said back to him, pushing him to lay back. "Relax. I'll sit here with you until you fall asleep again."

"What time is it?" Hiccup asked him, attempting to get comfortable.

"It's after two-"

"Two?!" Hiccup said. He'd only just fallen asleep four hours ago. With his nightmares continuing, he was waking up earlier throughout the night. Hiccup was really starting to become concerned about himself.

"Sleep," his father said to him.

Hiccup nodded in reply, and he tried to reposition himself in his bed, curlingup in himself. Just then, the cat jumped up on the bed. He lifted up the blanket, hoping the cat would crawl inside. Sure enough, he did. He relaxed himself against Hiccup's body. Hiccup closed his eyes and tried to relax to fall back to sleep.

Keeping his word to his son, Mr. Vast remained in the bedroom until he was sure his son had fallen back to sleep. It had been easily half an hour before he felt comfortable Hiccup was out. He sighed, and headed back to the bedroom. He reached for his cell phone just as Katherine turned over and looked at him.

"Is it me, or is he getting worse?" she asked.

"He's getting worse," was his reply. "These nightmares weren't this bad before." He sat down on the edge of the bed and began rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "You might want to go back to your place tomorrow after work."

"Stoick-"

"No, Katherine. I'm going to call Hiccup's doctor in the morning. He has an appointment anyways to get those stitches taken out. He's running a fever now-"

"I miss Astrid," Katherine said. "She seemed to help him, from what you've told me. Has he said whether or not they've made up yet?"

He shook his head. "They haven't. He won't talk about it. Hasn't wanted to since Sunday night. I feel like I am going back to square one with him. This summer his nightmares weren't this bad. I maybe sat with him three times before. Usually he was able to calm himself down before I went inside. He didn't look this bad either."

"Anything I can do?" Katherine asked.

He shook his head. "No, if he needs to talk he will. It takes him a little while to tell me things, if he ever does tell me. Let's try to get some sleep, okay?"

...

Hiccup had been to the doctor's office, and his stitches had been removed. His blood work had checked out okay, and Dr. Gothi said unless anything changed with him, he didn't need to come back.

"What about these nightmares?" his father had asked her before she dismissed herself. She'd given them ten days worth of a prescription to help him sleep, and handed Hiccup a doctor's excuse, which his father had taken from him, dropped him off at the house and headed towards the school. Hiccup was left alone in the house.

He was still flushed with some fever, but it wasn't as bad as it had been. Dr. Gothi believed it was caused from lack of sleep, and told them to call her emergency number on her business card if he hadn't improved by Saturday. His father didn't seem too happy with how she was acting towards the matter, but he listened to her and they left.

Hiccup remained in the house alone at the kitchen table. His scar itched something fearce right now, and he did all he could to avoid scratching it. He was wrapping it up again when he heard a knock on the door.

Grabbing both of his crutches he headed towards the door. He hadn't trusted himself in the last few days to hobble around with just one. He opened the door, and when he did, he felt the panic run through him. It was Astrid. She was standing on the porch, looking half soggy from the rain outside.

"May I come in?" she asked him through the screen door.

Feeling the anger boiling, he pushed the screen door open, and headed out to the porch. He didn't want her staying. He didn't want her there after what happened on Sunday. He wouldn't meet her eyes, but he could see the concern on her face when he came out into the natural light.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he replied back. He decided he wanted to sit down. He went over to the stone porch and sat down in his usual spot. She hesitated, but came and sat across from him. He refused to look directly at her. He bit the inside of his cheek, glancing out towards the street. She was making him anxious.

"You've not been at school," Astrid said to him gently.

"I've been home," was Hiccup's reply. He knew this didn't give her any information. She didn't need more.

"Fish said he hasn't heard from you since Monday morning," Astrid said.

He nodded and sighed. "My phone's been off-"

"Why?" Astrid asked him.

"I just haven't needed it," Hiccup replied. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you where it's at."

"So all those text messages I've sent to you, you haven't read them?" she said.

"I didn't want to," Hiccup said back. He turned and looked at her. He could see some tears in her eyes. He bit the inside of his cheek harder. He didn't like seeing her upset, and it was killing him inside. He had to get firm. He had his own feelings to worry about, he couldn't just think about her's. "Astrid, I don't particularly want you here, to be quite honest-"

"Coming right to the point now, I see," she replied back. Her voice sounded a little hurt.

"Saves the trouble," Hiccup replied ot her. He shook in the cold from the rain. He leaned against the pillar supporting the roof of the porch, and put his good leg up, resting it on the stone wall. His other leg dangled over the edge. "Honestly, I probably need to get back inside."

"Hiccup-" she said to him. She had reached her hand towards him, but stopped. She slowly put it down, and wrapped her arms around herself. It was then that Hiccup noticed she was wearing a nice blouse, which was too thin to be in alone in the cold. She was also wearing a pair of matching leggings. He hadn't seen her dress up in the last few weeks, not like this. "I'm sorry-"

"Sorry," he breathed. He sighed, attempting to push his anger away. He had to look away for a moment and then he turned back. His eyes fell on her shirt again, noting again it looked thin. Where was her jacket at? He assumed she'd expected to be invited inside right away. He sighed, and pushed himself off of the stone and onto the floor of the porch. "You're cold. C'mon inside."

"No," Astrid said. "I can tell I'm not exactly welcome-"

"No, Astrid, you aren't!" he snapped back. His voice softened. "But I'm not about to let a lady sit out here while she shivers." He reached for both of his crutches and headed towards the door. "Again, come on inside. My dad and Katherine aren't home."

He led the way towards the kitchen. She followed a few paces behind him after closing the door. Pulling two glasses from the cabnet, he poured two glasses of tea, and sat them both down on the table. Sitting down in his usual seat, he leaned his crutches against the wall. Astrid took the seat acrossed from him, and placed her hands over her glass but didn't sip it.

A moment passed between them and Astrid said, "You look like you've been to Valhalla and back."

"Thanks for telling me what I already know," he replied to her. His temper was showing in his voice, and at this point he didn't feel like hiding it. "I haven't been sleeping well."

"You've got bags under your eyes," she said to him. "How much sleep have you been getting?"

"Maybe four hours every night, if I don't wake up," he replied. He took a sip of his glass, then he looked up at her. She was wiping a tear from her face. He really did hate seeing her cry. It bothered him. He sighed. "Astrid, why are you here?"

"I came to check on you," she replied.

"You aren't my babysitter."

"I didn't say I was!" she snapped back. "I've been worried about you."

Hiccup bit the inside of his cheek. "That makes three of you."

"Has your father been around?" she asked.

"Yes," Hiccup said back to her. "I'm surprised you didn't see-or hear- him at the school. I'm sure he's throwing a royal fit with the principal right now."

"Have you heard from Snotlout?" Astrid asked him.

"No, I haven't. Phone has been shut off."

Astrid nodded. "That's right." She waited a minute. "His hearing was on Tuesday. He only received community service and his license has been suspended pending some alcohol counceling sessions."

"I'm glad he got something, at least," Hiccup said. He waited a minute. "How did your dad feel about that? He was wanting the book thrown at him if I remember correctly."

"My dad requested that from the judge," she replied. "Thought we'd give him a chance to work things out that way. If something else happens, it might be a different story. He seemed to take it pretty well. He's working over at the cafeteria now to serve some of his time."

Hiccup nodded. He was actually glad her father had calmed down on the punishment. Biting the inside of his lip, he looked back at Astrid. He could see it in her eyes she was hurt with how he was treating her. Remembering what happened Sunday hurt him.

"Astrid, you never really told me all of what happened on Sunday," he said.

She paused. "It wasn't something I felt you needed to hear. You kept badgering me."

Hiccup cleared his throat. "I saw the tears in your eyes when you came. I thought maybe something bad had happened to you. You did show up later than you had said you would. I know your mom was worried about you seeing me-"

"Did I come out and say that?" she asked.

"No, you didn't."

"I think she's worried about me seeing boys in general," she replied back. She took a small sip of her tea. "Hiccup, she did have some concerns about me seeing you. And I am sorry I didn't tell you properly about it."

There it was. The truth. That was all she had to say. Hiccup sighed, and nodded. "Because of my leg, right?"

Astrid hesitated.

"I think she's worried I'll end up helping you-more like being used as a crutch-"

"I already have two of those, Astrid," Hiccup said, pointing to the wall.

"Stop joking!" Astrid said to him. "Mom hasn't met you yet. My dad and I were both trying to get her to understand. My dad really likes you-"

"Astrid, what's done is done," Hiccup said to her. "This-" He gestured to himself, "-is what she's going to see. Like lots of people, they can't look past the leg-"

"I did," Astrid said. "And I saw something more. I saw someone who I could open my heart out to, and someone who could be there for me just as much as I could be there for them."

"I don't have anything to offer," Hiccup said to her. "I mean-look at me!"

"I do look at you, Hiccup," Astrid said to him. "I don't see a skinny boy with a missing leg. I see a kind, gentle person, full of ambition. Someone who won't treat me horribly-even when I act like a jerk myself-"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her.

"You could have left me sitting outside freezing my rear off-instead you invited me inside-"

"Astrid, that's just who I am-that's how I was raised-"

"Your father has raised a good man," Astrid said. She looked down at the table, and reached her hand towards the center of it. She was biting her lip slightly. She looked back up at him. "A man I want to formally invite back over for dinner when you are feeling better. That way, you can meet my mom properly."

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. He was feeling a little nervous, and hot. Rubbing the back of his neck, it was then he realized he was sweating again. This fever, he thought to himself.

"Hiccup, can I ask what exactly is going on?" Astrid asked him gently. "You don't look so good."

He sighed. "I'm having night terrors about my leg." He watched her eye brows raise. "I can't get a full night's sleep. Dad's been off work most of the week. I went to the doctor earlier." He pulled his sleeve up on his arm, showing her the bandages. "Stitches are out. My arm just itches like crazy."

"Your sweating, though," Astrid said to him. She stood up and came over and crouched in front of him. Slowly and gently, she reached her hand up towards him, and placed her hand against his cheek. "And you have a fever."

He nodded to her. "I'll survive." She hadn't removed her hand just yet, and he found himself leaning into it. He missed her touch. "Astrid, I was really hurt. It took me a little while to accept myself without a leg. I had to learn for look past people staring at me-I had to learn to accept myself again. When I was rejected by your mom-"

"Shhhh," she said to him. "I'm not my mother. Frankly, I don't particularly care what she thinks. Yeah, it hurt me too when she thought that. She's been asking about you. Asking when you were coming over. My dad's been asking why I hadn't been over here-he was getting used to me being gone more than I have been."

Hiccup reached his hand up and brought her hand down to his lap, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Astrid, maybe we moved to quickly. We were spending a lot of time together-then-" He paused for a moment. "Poof."

"You told me to leave," Astrid said to him. "You pushed me away-"

"I thought you were done with me," Hiccup said. "I wasn't going to sit and fight with you about your mom. I wouldn't make you choose me over her-"

"I wasn't going to choose!" Astrid said. "You are drawing to crazy conclusions!"

He sighed and looked away, but he didn't let go of her hand. "I honestly didn't know what to think. You weren't giving me very much feedback. You didn't want to talk about it, that was obvious."

Astrid waited a moment to respond. "Hiccup, I didn't want you to get hurt. And you did. And I am sorry-I am soooo sorry!" Tears were in her eyes again, and when he heard her voice quiver, he squeezed her hand tighter. "I didn't want you to get hurt, I promise-"

Hiccup reached to her and pulled her close to him, and held her tight. She cried into his chest from where she sat on her knees on the floor. For a moment he hoped he didn't smell horrible considering he'd been a sweaty mess most of the last few days, despite numerous showers. Holding her close, he let her braid get wrapped around his arms. While she cried, he played with it, feeling the tension in the strands.

"Astrid," he said finally when it seemed as though she had calmed a little bit. He pushed her back a little bit, and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "Let's just forget about this-okay? Put this in the past, and move forward."

She smiled and nodded. "Will you come over for dinner?"

He cringed a little bit. "I'll-think about it. Fair?"

She nodded at him. "Fair."

He sighed, biting the inside of his lip. Her bangs were in her face. He reached up and used his hand to smooth them back. He looked down at her, and leaned in and kissed her forehead. She was back. For the first time in days, he felt calm again.

...

 **What do you guys think? How are you feeling about the development?**


	15. Chapter 15

**I hope everyone's week is going well! It's been a really rough start here for us. Our hot water tank blew up last night, and we can't get someone over until tomorrow to help install a new one. So currently, we are completely without water. We are due for some heavy snow and some ice in our area. My husband has a job interview tomorrow about an hour away, so he took off and went north to stay with his mother for the night just in case the roads are too bad tomorrow to travel. Please say a little prayer for us. This is his third interview with the same company, so we are hoping for good news!**

 **Tonight to kill some stress this is the chapter I came up with. I had a little idea in my head, and I could have gotten it done on about 2100 words, but I always try to make it to at least 3000 when I write chapters. Not sure why, but it's just a little goal of mine.**

 **Let me know what you guys think!**

 **...**

"Astrid, I need to go lay down." Hiccup said suddenly.

Astrid could see his eyes were fluttering slightly the last few minutes they had been sitting at the kitchen table. She felt his cheek, noting the fever again. "Okay."

He reached for his crutches and headed towards the living room to relax on the couch. She watched him lay down while she headed down the hallway towards the bathroom. There, she fumbled with a few closets and drawers, finding wash clothes. She sighed, and soaked on under the tap, rang it out, and headed back towards the living room. Despite her conversation with Hiccup, she still felt edgy.

"Hey, would you mind grabbing me that crochet blanket on my bed?" Hiccup asked her when she approached the couch. He as trying to get comfortable.

"Crochet?" she asked him. What was crochet?

"The yarn blanket," Hiccup said to her gently.

She headed back down the hallway, and walked into his room, she found the blanket he was talking about folded neatly at the end of the bed. In the center of it laid the old cat curled up in a ball. She touched him gently, feeling a smile spread across her face when he jumped at her touch, making a meow noise. As soon as she had, he seemed to recognize her, and he stood up and came rubbing against her legs.

"Hello again to you, too, Toothless," she said to him quietly. He really was a sweet old cat. "I need to borrow this." She picked it up and headed back towards the living room after giving him another pet on the head.

"Thank you," Hiccup said to her, taking the blanket and spreading it over himself. Astrid helped him cover up his foot. Reaching up to his forehead again, she hesitated. Should she be touching him? Did he even want touched? But, instead she touched his forehead and gaged his fever again. "I know," Hiccup replied. A moment later, he reached for her hand. "Can you sit with me?"

"I thought you said we took things a little too quick?" Astrid asked. She couldn't help it, it just came out.

"I'm not good with this stuff, Astrid," Hiccup replied. "Obviously."

She gave him a little grin, and nodded. However, she didn't exactly know where to sit down at. Hiccup began to make room closest to where his pillow was, and she sat down. Suddenly, he leaned the pillow against her and laid his head back down. Biting her lip, she didn't know what to think.

"Too much? Hiccup asked her quietly.

"No," Astrid said to him. "I'd rather sit here than smell your stinky foot."

Hiccup snorted slightly at her. "I'm sorry if I smell horrible-I can't help-"

"I know," she said to him gently. She placed her arm over his shoulder and pulled him back towards his pillow. She placed the cool cloth over his forehead to try to draw out his fever.

Just then, the cat jumped up onto Hiccup's stomach and laid right down. Hiccup growled at him, but Astrid found it cute an funny.

"He's been all over me most of the week," Hiccup said to her. "He'd done this since I can remember."

"He's really your cat, isn't he?" Astrid asked him.

"That he is," Hiccup said. "My dad said my mom found him outside the house as a kitten when she was pregnant wit me. Had him ever since."

"Jeeze, you weren't kidding, the cat is old!"

Hiccup sighed and nodded gently.

As he was getting comfortable again, Astrid noticed Hiccup's English book sitting out on the table. She reached for it, and looked at where he had left off with it. She narrowed her eyes, realizing it wasn't even on the same chaper that her own class was on.

"Hiccup, what chapter is your class on in this book?" Astrid asked him.

She felt him go slightly rigid. "Uh-I'm not entirely sure."

"We are on chapter four. You are on chapter eighteen-"

She noticed he was rubbing his head a little bit, still hesitating. He reached his hand back behind himself, and she reached up towards it. He pulled her arm back over himself, and allowed it to rest over his chest. She gave him a little squeeze, and he seemed content.

"I finished all of my homework-and was reading ahead-" Hiccup replied hesitantly.

"Overachiever," Astrid said to him, and he chuckled back.

Hearing his sigh a few minutes later, his head rolled slightly to his right. He shifted a little bit, and she watched him, noticing the cat still remained on top of him. It wasn't a moment longer, and his breathing deepened.

Astrid felt herself stiffen at this realization. He seriously just fell asleep leaning up against her. She couldn't move without waking him up the way he was propped up against her. She sighed deeply, and decided then she was doomed there until he woke up.

She needed to force herself to relax. She realized she was still stiff moments later. Her nerves were on edge with him, she knew this. She particularly didn't like how nervous she had been feeling talking to him. But, she had never been in an argument before like this with someone she really cared about, outside of her parents of course. They were her parents, though. Even in the most heated discussions, they found a way quickly to wave off their argument and continue on with life as though nothing had happened.

With Hiccup, this was different. Even different than arguing with a good friend. Yeah, when she a Ruff would have their spats, they spent a few days not talking to each other. But, eventually, they got through it. Astrid didn't spent hours worried about their argument, or upset so badly that her stomach went into knots. She'd never had this feeling before. She felt down, kinda just floating through the week at school, trying hard not to show much emotion with her friends.

Instead of being social with her parents like she used to be, she spent a lot more time in her room, thinking about where she had gone wrong with Hiccup on Sunday. She had even sat down and wrote him notes to try to figure out her emotions. Each time, she had crumbled them up, still sorting through what she had wanted to say.

Then, last night, her father had approached her.

"Astrid, you haven't been yourself..."

She knew what was going to happen. It was easier talking to her dad more than it was her mother. Since her grandmother had been experiencing her dementia, her mother had become a little more on edge. Little things would set her off. Astrid knew it was the anxiety her mother had been dealing with, and most of the time just accepted that her mother was not herself sometimes. Astrid also wasn't herself on the days she would get phone calls stating her grandmother had baked another cake.

After talking with her father, he told her: "Instead of hiding from this, I think you need to go talk to him about it. It's been a few days. Sometimes in situations such as these, it's just best to lay low for a little while, and try again..."

And that was what Astrid had decided to do. She pulled her courage in and decided to try to talk to him. She'd even decided to dress herself up a little bit, something she hadn't done in a few weeks. She had gotten so used to being more casual as it was more comfortable after the accident. She needed to do something more with herself.

He suddenly stirred a little bit. His leg kicked out from under the blankets. Slowly removing his hand off of his chest, she reached up and felt his cheek with the side of her hand. He didn't feel any different. At least he was sleeping. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, it was obvious he hadn't slept in days. He hadn't looked near this bad even when he was in the hospital. She was worried about him.

She gave him a little squeeze when she felt him twitch a few times, and he let out a deep breath, and relaxed again. Where was Mr. Vast? Astrid slowly pulled her cell phone from the band in her leggings. It was almost five. Lying her phone on the end table, she found herself reaching for the English book.

...

Mr. Vast pulled up against the curb in front of the house. Putting the car into park, he turned the engine off. It was at this moment, he finally felt a sense of peace. He had been running around most of the day trying to get things situated between work and his son. Between the doctor's appointment, the meeting with the principal and a few of his teachers, and gathering Hiccup's homework he had missed and will miss tomorrow, and running to the pharmacy and...He was completely drained.

Leaning his head back against the headrest, he reached for his cell phone to reply to a text message from Katherine about work. She had been covering for him since Hiccup had been out for the most part. He was thankful she and a few other colleges were there to cover for him in situations like this. Ever since Hiccup had fallen, he realized how blessed he was with his work family. His boss had been lenient on how much time he was missing to be with Hiccup during the hospital stays, the doctor's appointments and the other struggles they had been having. Today, it was rare to find such a supportive work family. Closing his eyes, he said a silent prayer.

A moment later, he reached for the prescription sleep medication he had picked up at the pharmacy, and headed towards the house. Just as he was locking his car up, he recognized the car parked across the street. It was Astrid's father's car. He remembered it from when Hiccup had his phantom pain episode the week before. Which meant...

Mr. Vast headed towards the house and approached the front door quietly. Gently pushing it forward, he stepped lightly into the house, and listened. The whole house was quiet, and no lights were on with the exception of the kitchen light. He continued to take quiet steps into the house. Turning to the living room, he let out a breath.

Even through the darkness of the room, for the first time in almost a week, he saw his son sleeping pretty soundly. His mouth was slightly open, indicating he was in a deep sleep. He was turned on his side facing the back of the couch. The cat laid curled up in his hip. Astrid was close, asleep herself, supporting a damp rag to his son's forehead.

It was when he noticed this did he panic slightly. He approached gently, and tried not to startle either of them. He leaned over and turned on the lamp on the far side table so that he could see much more clearly. He placed the back of his hand against Hiccup's cheek, feeling for fever. Surprisingly, he wasn't near as warm as he felt in the doctor's office just hours earlier. He touched the rag, realizing that the moister was almost gone from it.

Astrid stirred just then. Mr. Vast felt a little bit of uneasiness as she moved. He didn't want to frighten her when she saw him standing close. Instead, he knelt down onto the floor. He figured he'd startle her less if she saw him.

When her eyes met his, she was still startled. He saw her face go a little red with embarrassment, and maybe a little bit of panic. He was sure she was worried about he finding them like this.

"Hello, lass," he said to her gently. He could see the confusion on her face.

"Hello," she said back to him quietly. She turned and looked at Hiccup, obviously trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"He seems to be doing a bit better," he replied to her.

He watched her shrug her shoulder's gently. The redness in her face was disappearing quickly.

"He looked pretty rough this afternoon when I came over," she said.

"Did he tell you about the night terrors?"

Astrid nodded. "He didn't go into immense detail about them, but he did say that he's been having a hard time staying asleep because of them." She had moved her arm that had rested over his shoulders off of him. He chuckled to himself slightly, amused at how Astrid was acting in front of him.

"They were much worse than before," Mr. Vast said to her. "It's been a real struggle."

She nodded at him. He could see she was uneasy still.

"What time you do you need to be home?" he asked her.

Astrid turned to her phone and checked the time. She shrugged her shoulders. "My parents didn't really give me a time."

"There isn't much to eat here, but I can make some pancakes if you are hungry. I have some toast and eggs, too." He saw her give a weak smile. He was even sure if breakfast for dinner sounded remotely good for dinner, but he felt obligated to make her something.

"Do you have any peanut butter?" she asked him.

He had to hold back from snorting. "With Hiccup here, we usually need an extra large jar of the stuff. He practically puts it on everything."

She nodded to him. "That sounds good."

Mr. Vast set right to work to making dinner. After asking Astrid how she preferred her eggs, and turning on the television for her, handing her the remote, he set right to work on dinner, leaving the two in the living room alone again.

...

Astrid felt a little awkward just sitting on the couch while Mr. Vast made the dinner. This wasn't what she did, to just sit back and do nothing even while the host did everything. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to figure out what she really needed to do. He had handed her the remote, telling her to figure out something to watch on the television in the mean time. But, she felt bad all in the same.

She glanced down at Hiccup, who was sound asleep. Mr. Vast had removed the damp cloth from his forehead and left him to rest with her on the couch. As the minutes passed by, she heard Mr. Vast making quite a bit of noise while he cooked, even dropping a pan at one point. Hiccup didn't move. He continued to sleep on.

Not long had passed before she heard the front door open again. She waited a moment more, knowing it had to be Katherine coming through the front door. Sure enough, Katherine turned the corner, dressed in a very cute, colorful, long skirt and a pretty red blouse. She gave Astrid a bright smile and a wave, and headed towards the kitchen with a half gallon of orange juice in hand. Obviously, Mr. Vast had text her asking her to bring it.

For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why Hiccup hadn't liked her for the longest time. She was a very sweet woman. All of a sudden though, Sunday, he seemed to have opened up to the idea of his father seeing her. A lot of Astrid's own friends came from broken families. She hoped that this continued for them deep down.

She could hear Mr. Vast and Katherine exchange words back and forth, but she couldn't make out what they were saying to each other. She assumed they had been talking about their days to each other, despite the fact they worked for the same company. A few minutes later, Astrid heard glasses being sat at the dining room table. She could hear juice being poured into them. Surprisingly, the noise didn't wake Hiccup up at all. Astrid was a very light sleeper usually. She was surprised Mr. Vast had made it inside the house without waking her up sooner than later like he had.

Mr. Vast came inside and smiled. "Dinner is ready!"

Astrid turned to look at Hiccup then, and back to Mr. Vast. "Should we let him sleep?"

Mr. Vast shook his head. "As much as I know he needs it-he also needs to eat." He leaned over and shook his son's shoulder, officially stirring the cat, who went running back to Hiccup's bedroom. "C'mon, son."

Hiccup groaned slightly. "Dad-"

"C'mon, you've had a nap-" Mr. Vast shook him again. He then reached over and felt his forehead again. Astrid saw a small smile come to his face. "C'mon-" She assumed the fever had subsided more. "Time to eat-"

"Can't I just sleep?" Hiccup asked him.

"You can here after a while. Now, c'mon. I've made some toast, and eggs, and-"

"Let me guess-" Hiccup said, turning over to him. "Pancakes."

"You got it!" Once he realized Hiccup was more awake, he walked away, leaving Astrid and he on the couch for a few minutes.

Hiccup sighed, and pushed himself up slightly. The light seemed to be hurting his eyes while they adjusted. He swallowed hard, then his eyes met her's.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you," he said gently. She could see his cheeks flush with red, but not from fever, from embarrassment.

"It's okay," she said gently.

After a moment, Hiccup swung his lower half over the side of the couch and reached for his crutches. He seemed a little bit unsteady, but she could tell he was still trying to wake up. She followed him to the kitchen, where Katherine had set the table, a bed of scrambled eggs caked each plate, and a stack of buttermilk pancakes sat as the center piece of the table.

"You over did it," Hiccup said to his father. He sat down in his usual seat, leaned his crutches against the wall, and sighed. Astrid couldn't tell if he was just grumpy or still trying to wake up.

"Are you not a true morning person?" she asked him as she took a seat next to him at the table.

"He usually isn't this cranky, I will say that," Mr. Vast said, helping himself to the first pancake in the stack. He then placed a pancake on Hiccup's plate. Astrid could see the look Hiccup was giving him. "Eat!" he said firmly to him. "Don't argue."

Hiccup's face went beat red, and he slouched in his seat, his hand supporting his forehead at the table. "Can I start with a slice of toast at least?"

"No!" Katherine said to him. "These pancakes are loaded with mini chocolate chips! You can't tell me you don't like chocolate chip pancakes?"

Astrid laughed gently at her expression. She had so much contagious energy.

"I do," Hiccup said to her quietly. "Just not on such an empty stomach."

"Just eat slow," Mr. Vast said to him. "Astrid, how many pancakes would you like?" Without letting her answer, he laid two large pancakes on her plate.

...

Hiccup walked Astrid to the front door just before nine. He was completely exhausted. His eyes burned from lack of sleep. Despite feeling so tired, he was happy to see Astrid's laugh at dinner. Katherine had her giggling like a little girl at her jokes she made, and the stories she told about her school days. Astrid seemed to know who her daughter, Heather, was, even though Hiccup couldn't remember her being just two grades ahead of them. Maybe it was because he hadn't paid much attention, he wasn't sure.

"Here," Hiccup said to her. He had gone to his room and found a zip-up hoodie from his closet for her to wear home. "It's too cold for you to be wondering around without something warmer."

Giving him a gentle smile, she went to take it from him, but he pulled it back. He unfolded it, and held it out to help her into it. She blushed when he did, and she quickly pulled it over her blouse.

"Thank you, Hiccup," she said to him gently.

He nodded to her. Her bangs were hanging in her eyes again, and he reached a hand up to push them back from her face. For a brief second he wanted to lean down and kiss her lips. But, he hesitated. "You going to text me and let me know you made it home safe?"

He watched Astrid cock her head to the side a little bit. She hesitated with that answer. Instead, she asked a question.

"Did you find your phone?" she asked him.

He smirked at her. "It's in my bedside drawer. I'll turn it on as soon as you leave."

"You told me you didn't know where it was at," she said back.

He rolled his eyes gently, and reached for her hand. He gave it a light squeeze. "Okay, I fibbed. But, I didn't lie about it not being on."

"I believe you," she replied back to him.

He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Be safe, milady."

"I will," she said back. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and slipped out the door.

He watched her walk to her car and get inside. Once she was in, buckled, and had the car on, he started to shut the door. Until she was out of sight, he wouldn't close it all the way. A moment later, she was driving herself home. Sighing to himself, he pushed the door shut.

He hadn't had the desire to actually kiss more than her forehead or her cheek. Suddenly, he felt the need to kiss her lips. But exactly, how was he supposed to do that. It just didn't seem...natural? He decided then he needed to watch more chick-flicks with her, as much as he didn't want to. Maybe he could get some tips.

"I'm losing my mind," he said to himself, and he decided to head to his room and turn on his phone before he missed her text message.

...

 **I LOVED the idea of making Astrid a little uncomfortable around Stoick! I mean, what teenage girl wouldn't be on edge if her "boyfriend"'s father found them "sleeping" together. I was one of those teenagers that followed EVERY rule my parents gave me, 90% of the time, no questions asked. So writing someone rebellious or someone without respect for adults and authority I do struggle with. My boyfriend's family always made me nervous even when we showed a little PDA, such as hand holding or even the slightest touch in high school. So, I just put myself in Astrid's shoes when this happened. If I was focusing more on Stoick's POV, I probably would have had him think more along the lines of having him comment that Astrid did respect the rules in his household, as in he didn't want them in Hiccup's room alone, etc.**

 **SOOOO what do you guys think? Have you realized that they have yet to officially KISS up until this point?**


	16. Chapter 16

****Due to a few recent events I've come up with this chapter. I hope you really enjoy it.****

 ** **...****

Hiccup woke up. It didn't seem too dark inside his room. And, he felt...better. Way better than he had all week. What time was it exactly? He reached over and grabbed his phone off of his night stand and pushed it, turning on the screen.

6:12 AM.

Sitting up he hunched over and rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up fully. He didn't want to go back to sleep. If he did, who knows if he would actually go to school. Sleep was too much of a guilty pleasure right now.

He rolled over the cat the laid to his left, and reached for a single crutch. He wanted a shower. It would help him wake up more, and he wouldn't want to go back to sleep.

After brushing his teeth, he leaned in and turned on the water. He turned the knobs to get it to the perfect temperature, knowing the correct sequence the knobs needed to be in for the perfect shower. After waiting a minute, he tested the water.

It was ice cold.

Sighing, he turned the cold water tap down, and tested it again. Still cold.

"That just makes me want to crawl back into bed," he said to himself. He'd had enough of the cold in general. The cold weather; feeling cold under the covers. It just made his leg throb.

After playing with the knobs a little bit more, he sighed. Nothing seemed to be giving him any heat. He turned the water off. Now what was he going to do?

His stomach growled. Breakfast. An apple with peanut butter sounded perfect. He grabbed his phone off the counter and headed towards the kitchen. Opening up the fridge, he leaned down and opened the crisper drawer. No apples. Not even one. The only item he found were some old, rubbery celery that needed pitched.

Frustrated, Hiccup grabbed the bag from the crisper and threw it into the trash. Then, he turned back to grab the milk so that he could make a bowl of cereal. He scanned the whole fridge, and there wasn't a jug anywhere.

"Why do the God's hate me?" he asked aloud. He looked for bananas on the counter, there weren't any. The oranges were too soft. Of course, last night they had eaten all the eggs they had. "Toast. Good old toast." He reached over and opened the bread box. Guess what, the bread was gone as well. However, there was a pack of moldy hot dog buns, which he turned and threw into the trash with the celery.

When was the last time his dad had been grocery shopping? That's right, his father had been too busy taking care of him to worry about groceries the last week. Plus, Hiccup hadn't had much of an appetite all week.

Suddenly, he heard his father's footsteps in the hallway. He was probably coming to start the coffee pot. Hiccup leaned himself against the counter, used the crutch to support himself, and waited for his father to meet him in the kitchen.

"Did I actually get to turn my alarm off this morning?" his father said to him.

"Very funny," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"I take it you slept well?" his father asked him, reaching into the cabinet for his coffee tin.

"I think so," Hiccup said to him. "I take it you did as well?"

"I d-iiiiiii-d," his father said, stretching. He took in a deep breath and let it out as he filled up his coffee filter. His father looked at him sleepily. "Why do you look so annoyed?"

"Well-" Hiccup went to begin, but he stopped himself. He felt a little guilty complaining about the lack there of hot water and his usual breakfast items in the house. His father had just spent four nights up and down with him and his nightmares. He turned red, wishing he had done a better job at hiding his emotions.

"C'mon, Hiccup, spit it out," his father told him, turning the coffee pot on to heat the water.

"It's okay, Dad," Hiccup replied quietly.

Mr. Vast looked around the kitchen. He then opened up the fridge, and his face changed. "I see. I haven't been to the grocery store."

"And that's okay!" Hiccup said to him, hoping his father wasn't annoyed with himself. "I'll get breakfast at school today-"

"School?" his father said. "I'm not so sure-" He reached up and felt Hiccup's forehead. Hiccup noticed the surprise in his eyes. "Hm-no fever-"

Hiccup had forgotten about the lingering fever from the previous day. He bit the inside of his cheek.

"Is your school work done?" Mr. Vast asked him.

Hiccup nodded. "All but what you picked up yesterday-"

"I picked up yesterday and todays anticipating you wouldn't be going. Might be best if you stay home and get that done instead-"

"Dad, don't you think I've missed enough school?" Hiccup suddenly swayed where he stood. He'd lost a little balance in his one good leg. He leaned the crutch against the counter and pushed himself up backwards onto sit down. There, he sat. He felt like a little boy again, sitting there like he did as a child. He used to watch his father do the dishes on that counter. Or, he would sit here and wait for medicine if he was sick. Most of all he remembered his father putting him up there to clean his cuts and put band-aides over his scrapes.

"I think you have-" Mr. Vast replied. He sighed. "Do you think your teachers would give you extra time on your homework if you went back in today?"

"I'm not sure," Hiccup said. "I am a little worried about art class-I've missed a lot of the current project-"

"I already talked to Mrs. Vickerson. She said you have plenty of time to turn in your project. She said it was some portfolio of some sort-"

"Yeah," Hiccup said, turning slightly red suddenly. Mrs. Vickerson had assigned them all a "themed" project, but they had to choose the theme. Hiccup had decided on doing a variety of sketches in charcoal. He'd already had a few of them completed and started. He knew how to challenge his skills. But, lately he hadn't wanted to sketch at all. Which, was unusual even for him.

"You aren't worried about your math homework?" Mr. Vast asked him. In the background they could hear the coffee pot popping. The water was beginning to boil.

"Not really," Hiccup said. "Most of the time, I teach myself how to do the math from the book."

Mr. Vast sighed. "You get your brains from your mother-that's for sure-"

Hiccup sighed. "Dad, may I go to school today?"

Mr. Vast cocked his head at him. He leaned against the counter, crossed his arms in front of himself, but reached up and rubbed his face. He touched his beard gently, thinking. Hiccup could tell his gears were turning. Why was he being so hesitant to respond?

"Dad," Hiccup said to him. "Is there something wrong?"

Mr. Vast sighed. "I considered putting you with a tutor for home schooling-"

"No!" Hiccup said to him suddenly. Panic started beating heavily inside his chest. "Dad-if you do that, I can't enter into the writing festival-"

"You still want to do that?" Mr. Vast asked.

"Yes!" Hiccup said. "Why do you want to pull me out?"

"Your principal and I had a few words yesterday-"

"Of course you both did!" Hiccup snapped suddenly. He edged himself off the counter top, trying to balance himself with just one leg. "What were the words?"

"He was afraid you'd missed too much school to keep up-"

Hiccup growled. "I keep up with my school work just fine!"

"Are you sure?" Mr. Vast asked him quietly.

"Are you being serious?" Hiccup asked him. "Have either of you talked together with my teachers?"

"No, but-"

"Dad!" Hiccup began. "I promise you, if I thought I wasn't keeping up in school, I would come to you and tell you. The last two and a half weeks-those haven't necessarily been my fault."

"I know that-"

Hiccup sighed. Again, he felt his whole world was crashing into itself. He'd lost his time in the woods, he hadn't been in school. He didn't have the desire to sketch like he used to. Why? What was going on with him? He felt like his head was spinning...

"Son, stay home today," Mr. Vast said gently to him, and he placed his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Get your homework done that way you are completely caught up. You can start fresh on Monday, okay? We can also talk about the home schooling for the remainder of the year-"

Hiccup growled. "Okay, fine." Suddenly, he didn't feel so badly that his father had lost much sleep taking care of him. That guilt remained sitting on his shoulder, but he had other matters to solve with his father, such as-

"Dad, shower wouldn't heat up this morning."

Mr. Vast sighed. "I've been wondering about that hot water tank-" His coffee was done, and he reached into the cabinet for a mug to pour himself a glass. "Can you make me a grocery list? I know we are pretty much out of stock on everything-"

Hiccup sighed again. "Dad, I'll make one. But, can we go together and get the groceries?" He didn't want his father doing it alone. Not after the week he had put him through. There he went again. Feeling guilty about keeping his father up. He went from feeling guilty, to not feeling guilty about it, and back to guilty. He couldn't shake it despite how frustrated he was with is father.

Mr. Vast nodded to him. "Yes, we will do that." The coffee was finally done, and he poured himself a cup. He reached into the fridge to grab the milk, but realized after a moment they were out. "I am behind."

Hiccup smirked. Okay, there was the pay back. His father didn't like his coffee without any type of milk or creamer.

"I have a meeting I have to be at at one. How about you go get dressed and we will go to the grocery?" His father glanced at his watch. "It's almost seven. We will go around eight. You want to go lay back down for a little while?"

Sighing, Hiccup headed back towards his room. He was annoyed. And he wasn't tired. Instead, he set himself down on the bed, and made himself reach for his sketch pad. He needed to draw. He had to find some type of inspiration. Something besides the cat and roses. But what?

...

8:34 AM - IS IT OKAY IF I COME SEE YOU AFTER SCHOOL TODAY?

Hiccup read the text message while his father drove the car. He sighed deeply.

"Something troubling you?" Mr. Vast asked him as he turned the corner to head to the grocery.

"Ehhhh," Hiccup said. He had spent his morning thinking while he was sketching. He couldn't get the thought of kissing Astrid from his mind. He didn't know why. It was satisfying to him to kiss her on her cheek or her forehead, and she never really seemed to mind. If she had been trying to kiss him on the lips, he hadn't caught the hint. Suddenly, he was worried he missed her hint. He rubbed his temples with confusion.

"Something is bothering you," Mr. Vast said to him. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm not sure if I want to talk about it right now-"

"Why not?" Mr. Vast asked him. "We've easily got ten minutes in traffic."

Hiccup shifted his jaw in frustration. "It's not important-"

"Well, your phone went off indicating you received a text message. Up until a few weeks ago, I'd never seen you on your phone a whole lot. You and Fish barely ever text. So, it has to be Ms. Hofferson-"

Hiccup growled.

"You're just sore because I figured it out," Mr. Vast said to him. "Now, what's going on?"

Hiccup debated for a moment. "Well-I-I had this desire to kiss her last night when she left-" He watched his father's eye brows go up. "What?"

"You haven't kissed the lass yet?" Mr. Vast said. "I hear you when you walk her to the door-"

"No, Dad, not like that." Hiccup sighed again. "I haven't-kiss her lips." He felt his face get hot. Why was he having this conversation with his dad? Why couldn't he had just dropped it? He felt himself sink down in his seat in the car. He felt trapped. At least at home he could run and hide in his room if they were having this conversation.

"So what have you been kissing?" his father asked him.

Hiccup wouldn't look at him. He turned his head away to the right to look out the side. He wanted out of the car. Feeling his stomach flip, he sighed.

"Hiccup-"

"Her forehead-her cheek. I think I've kissed her hand a time or two-"

"Ah," his father said. "I used to kiss your mother's forehead every night before she tucked you in. Do you remember that?"

Hiccup paused, and thought. "Vaguely-I think-"

"So why haven't you tried to kiss her?" his father asked him.

Hiccup bit the inside of his cheek. "I never really thought about it until last night. I had the desire to for the first time-and I didn't."

"Why didn't you?"

"Dad-can we drop this?" Hiccup asked.

"No-we are talking about it now. Why didn't you kiss her?"

Hiccup was losing his patience. "Dad-"

"Hiccup-"

"Grrrrrrr-" Hiccup growled. "I wasn't exactly in my right mind still last night-" He waited. "I was a sweaty mess-fever-"

"Okay, your point?"

Hiccup paused before he thought. "Maybe-maybe because I didn't know if I was wanting to kiss her-because we'd been apart for four days-and maybe it was just the fact I missed her-a lot?" He was having a difficult time saying what he was thinking. Typically, this wasn't quite so hard for him. He waited again before he spoke. "We spent four days apart. I didn't want to make an irrational move. I didn't want to look to desperate for her affection."

Mr. Vast waited for more of a reply. Hiccup didn't know what else to say, if there was more. He swallowed hard, and put his head into his hands, covering his eyes as he thought.

"I'm really confused," Hiccup admitted. "I went from being alone-to almost instantly having a new best friend. And, I really like spending time with her. Even if we are just sitting on the couch-we find a lot to talk about and do. She doesn't fault me for my geekiness. She doesn't look at me like I'm a no-body or that I am crazy. She doesn't flinch when it come to the leg thing-"

"Hiccup, you don't have cooties-"

"Dad, you don't realize the stares I get on a daily basis, even if everyone is used to seeing me in the hallways at this point with-this the prosthetic. They watch me hobble-they shy away from me. They stare but don't ask questions-"

"Hiccup-"

"Dad, I'm being serious!" Hiccup said to him. "It gets really old."

"You have to learn to ignore everyone else's ignorance," Mr. Vast said. "Didn't you tell me at some point recently you'd caught her staring at your leg?"

"Yeah, but we talked about that," Hiccup replied. "I told her to ask questions-I didn't mind-"

"Hiccup, people worry about offending you if they do," Mr. Vast said. "It's not an easy subject to talk about. I know Fish doesn't know the truth-you've told me that."

"He doesn't ask-"

Mr. Vast was pulling into the store parking lot. He looked both ways to make sure no cars were coming, then he sighed. "Hiccup-people aren't going to ask you how you lost your leg. Take Snotlout for example. Does he really know what happened?"

"No-"

"Have you offered to talk about it?"

Hiccup paused. "No-"

"If you don't open yourself up to other people outside your little circle, they won't know-they won't understand-and they will continue to stare."

Hiccup sighed and leaned back in his seat. "I don't do well with words-not speaking publicly-"

"No," Mr. Vast said to him. "But you write about it-and you draw..."

Hiccup turned and looked at his father. Suddenly, he felt a smile come to his face. "You are right-I do-"

"I think you need to put those skills out there. Tell the world your story-in your own way."

Hiccup smiled. "I love that idea-"

"I think you need to meet with Mr. Brice and Mrs. Vickerson-"

"Yes!" Hiccup said aloud. He suddenly felt excited. "Dad-wow-"

Mr. Vast smiled. "Now that we have that settled-what about this whole kissing thing with Astrid?"

"Had to bust my confidence bubble, didn't you?" Hiccup said, crossing his arms.

"Maybe just a little bit," Mr. Vast replied, finding a spot to park. Hiccup looked around and realized his father had parked in the back of the parking lot. Hiccup looked down at his foot. He hadn't put the prosthetic on. "Back lotting it, huh?"

"You don't like when I park in the handicap spots," Mr. Vast said.

"Did I finally get you trained?" Hiccup asked in reply.

Mr. Vast laughed slightly at the smirk on his face. "You've yelled at me enough-"

"How often do I yell at you?" Hiccup asked him.

"Your tone is enough," Mr. Vast replied. "Hiccup-this whole kissing Astrid thing-"

"We still haven't dropped this?" Hiccup groaned. His face turned red again and he looked away from his dad.

"No," Mr. Vast said. "Something you need to do is stop thinking so much-and just do. Don't think about kissing her-has she ever been kissed by someone other than you?"

Hiccup found himself pondering for a moment. "I actually don't know. I think she's been on dates-but she's never really named a person she's considered her boyfriend before-not even me-"

Mr. Vast shrugged. "Just kiss her when you are ready. If she doesn't push you away-or slap you in your face-I think you'll be okay."

"She might slap me?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, jeeze!" Mr. Vast said. "You are thinking too much about this."

"Are we dropping the subject?" Hiccup asked him. He couldn't wait for his father to let him escape the car.

His father nudged him. "Yes, for now."

...

 **Soooo...we've been without hot water in the house for 4 days. I've showered at a friends twice since then. Tonight we finally have hot water again! It became a good subject piece in this story, even if it was just minor.**

 **I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

***CHAPTER EDIT***

 **I think I posted this prematurely. Funny how the mind plays tricks on you at midnight on a work night. I am only editing the last little bit, so if you read the first edition of this chapter, you only need to skip down to the break and start from there. I hope this is better, I think it will be.**

 **...**

Hiccup wanted nothing more than to get out of the guidance counselor's office. The guidance counselor was across from him, sitting with her arms crossed on her desk. He already didn't like this woman. Outside of the conversation they had with Mr. Finnegan and his father the week before, he never had to talk to her. Even when he fell off the roof, they never called him into the office to talk about his accident. Not until now.

"Now, Hiccup, let's discuss what happened this summer," she began.

"With all do respect, ma'am, there isn't any reason to," he replied. His chest felt tight and he was burning up. He started to roll up his sleeves, but remembered his arm was wrapped still. He rolled it back down.

"Sure there is," she replied. "You've missed a lot of school here lately. Are things okay at home?"

She was a little too sweet sounding. And, she talked to him like he was four. He was sixteen for crying out loud, a junior with a 3.8 GPA. Not a preschooler.

"Things are as they should be," he replied to her.

"You aren't having any issues at home with your parents?" she asked him, raising her eyebrow curiously.

"No," he replied. He was watching her flip through his very thin school file. He could see a few old report cards from his previous years. A few recent doctor's excuses, his copies of his X-rays, and recent detailed notes he believed were from Mr. Finnegan. He glanced out through the glass door and saw his father sitting in a chair looking at his phone.

"Not issues at all?" she asked him again.

He shook his head. "Again, no-"

"You have nothing to talk to me about?" she asked him.

"No," he replied. He swallowed hard.

"How's your relationship with your father?" she asked him.

"It's good," he replied.

"Go on," she said after a moment of silence.

Hiccup sighed. "Why are you asking me about my father?"

"Just standard questions," she replied, shutting his file. "Hiccup-my job is to try to help you as much as I can with your school environment. Is there a reason why you don't want to come to school?"

Hiccup bit the inside of his lip. "There isn't any reason why I don't want to come to school. I haven't been _able_ to."

"Why not?" she asked him.

She knew why, Hiccup thought to himself. Why was she asking? Why were they continuing to argue over this?

"How many days of school did I miss before the last two weeks?" Hiccup asked her.

"Not very many-"

"Then why all of a sudden is the school worried about me missing most of the last two weeks?" Hiccup said.

Mrs. Kryler looked at him for a moment. "You don't need to ask me questions-"

Hiccup leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He sighed. "To be honest, I do, ma'am."

"Why do you think that you need to?" she asked him.

"I haven't missed a lot of school since I was a kid," Hiccup replied to her quietly. "I suddenly start missing school, and my 3.8 GPA means nothing."

"Oh, it does, Hiccup," she replied to him slowly. "It shows you are a good student-"

"Yes, and I have kept my grades up just fine the last two weeks since I started missing school," Hiccup replied. "I don't cause trouble-I don't miss a _ton_ of school. I would like to know why it's suddenly a big concern."

"You've never missed this much school, Hiccup. Over the summer-you fell off the roof and broke your leg-you had to have it amputated-"

"Yes-"

"You were in the hospital for a few days-you've needed stitches twice-you've been out all week-"

"Yes, yes, yes-" Hiccup responded. "What are you getting at?"

"Is everything okay at home?" Mrs. Kryler asked him.

Hiccup sighed. Suddenly, he was becoming very angry. He felt hot again, and the pressure on his chest was beginning to get too heavy. He wanted to yell, but he leaned back again and tried to calm himself down.

"Mrs. Kryler, everything is just fine at home-" Hiccup began.

"Your father has a pretty big temper-"

"My father takes care of me," Hiccup replied to her. Leaning forward, he slouched and rested his elbows on his thighs. He rubbed his temples. "My dad makes sure I'm all right. I wanted to come to school this morning-but for reasons like this-I understand why he didn't just drop me off this morning-it would have been an interrogation-"

"This isn't of the sort," Mrs. Kryler said. "Hiccup, the school is concerned with all the days you have missed leading up to this point. We need to know why-and see if we can help solve the problem."

"There isn't a problem," Hiccup said. He sighed again, leaned back in his seat, and rubbed the right side of his forehead. He crossed his arms over himself, and immediately thought of Astrid. This is what she did when she felt nervous. He looked back at Mrs. Kryler. "Instead of fishing for information from me-why don't you ask me different questions-"

"Such as-"

Hiccup sighed. "What would you like to know?"

"About-"

"Anything," Hiccup said to her. "I mean-last time I was in here I had to plead my case. What haven't I cleared up with you?"

It was then that a knock came at the door, and Hiccup turned and saw Mr. Finnegan pull the door towards himself, letting himself into the office.

"Afternoon, Hiccup," he said to him.

The man made him nervous. Worse than Mrs. Kryler. Was it because on more than one occasion he had heard his father on the phone arguing with him?

"Hello, sir," Hiccup said to him.

His principal closed the door behind him. Hiccup saw his father look up from his phone, in total discuss. Apparently, his father hadn't been invited in to sit in on the conversation.

"Hiccup, this time last week you and your father told me you wouldn't be missing anymore days," he said calmly.

"True," Hiccup said to him. "But, I wasn't expecting to fall ill most of the week."

"What did you have?" Mr. Finnegan asked him.

"My father brought the doctor' excuse to you when he picked my homework up," Hiccup responded to him. He bit the inside of his cheek nervously.

"He did," Mr. Finnegan said to him, taking a seat on the other side of the room. He reached out to Mrs. Kryler, and she handed him Hiccup's file. For a moment, he flipped through it. "Looks like you were prescribed a sleep-aide-"

"I was having nightmares-"

"About?"

Hiccup felt his breath catch in his throat. He didn't like the questions they were asking. He didn't like exposing himself and being so vulnerable with near-strangers. His business was his business. He wanted to keep it that way.

"That's pretty personal," Hiccup replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father leave the outside office, stepping out of sight. Where was he going?

"Well, you can tell us," Mrs. Kryler said to him. "What you tell us stays here-"

"Hiccup, what were you doing when you fell off the roof?" Mr. Finnegan asked.

Hiccup's jaw clenched. He didn't like discussing it, it was obvious. With Astrid, he had told her to ask questions. He had wished others would have asked him questions instead of staring. With Mr. Finnegan and Mrs. Kryler, he didn't want to share it. But, he needed to.

"I was sketching," Hiccup said quietly. His voice caught a little in his throat. He closed his eyes for a moment, and remembered Snotlout driving by the house, screaming "Tripod" at him when he did. He remembered his charcoal getting thrown into the mud when he was a little boy, and hiding the fact from his father.

"Sketching?" Mr. Finnegan asked him.

He opened his eyes and nodded. "It's peaceful."

"You don't get peace inside your own house?" Mr. Finnegan asked him, cocking his head.

Hiccup sighed. Again, asking personal questions he didn't really want to offer up. He found himself rubbing his arm nervously. "My home life is fine." He swallowed. "I like being outside."

"Don't you have a front porch?" Mr. Finnegan asked.

"I do," Hiccup responded. "What does this have to do with me missing school?"

"Just trying to get the full story, that's all," Mr. Finnegan said to him.

Hiccup wanted to scream. His anger was boiling. Were they trying to get him to react like his father did, flipping chairs out of anger. That wasn't Hiccup. He held it inside.

"Mr. Finnegan, my doctor provided a doctor's excuse for the week to you," Hiccup said to him. He turned to Mrs. Kryler. "I feel like this is an interrogation."

"It's far from that," she replied.

Hiccup looked at them both. He wanted this to be over with. Maybe, just maybe, if he answered their questions, it would be over with.

"Next question?" Hiccup said to them.

"So, when you broke your leg-"

Hiccup felt his breath catch. Putting his head down again. He wanted to get past this. It wasn't going to be easy to do.

"-what was wrong to where they had to amputate it?"

Again, Hiccup's breath caught in his chest. He remembered his father and doctor's presenting him with the facts of his first surgery they had started. He'd already been terrified of being placed under, and waking up with his leg still not fixed was a nightmare in his mind. He remembered feeling off as the doctor explained to him his options. Willing the tears back that were forming in his eyes, he focused his attention on the dent in the side of Mrs. Kryler' desk. Had another student kicked it out of anger?

"I was given the choice," Hiccup said slowly. His eyes didn't leave the dent. He swallowed. "Either allow them to try to piece together splinters of bone, or amputate the leg from my calf down. " He looked up at Mr. Finnegan. He knew tears were in his eyes when he looked at the man. "Obviously, I made a choice."

Mr. Finnegan looked away from him. Had Hiccup caught him off guard someway? He looked uncomfortable suddenly.

Focusing his attention back to the dent, he continued. "For me, the choice I made was what was best for me. Instead of spending months in physical therapy and in immense pain, being cooped up in my house-I chose to have less recovery time, and more freedom to be myself-" Hiccup felt his body shaking uncontrollably. Breathing was beginning to become a chore. "Where's my dad?"

Mr. Finnegan ignored him. "So, you came back to school and you were on those?"

Hiccup glanced down at his crutches. "Yes."

"The last time I saw you, Hiccup, you had your-"

"-Prosthetic-"

"Yes, what is going on now?"

Hiccup was trying not to show his mixture of anger and frustration, and also the fact he was beginning to have another breakdown. Why was this happening so frequently all of a sudden? Was his state just too weak? His whole routine was off. This was why he wanted to go back to school, to get his life back on track again. Yet, Mr. Finnegan seemed to be standing in his way.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. He turned and saw Mr. Brice standing with his father. They entered the room.

"Mr. Brice, this is a closed discussion-" Mrs. Kryler began.

"Forgive me for intruding," Mr. Brice said to them both. He nodded to Hiccup. In his hands he held a folder. "I felt like I needed to sit in on this meeting-"

Hiccup felt his father approach him from behind, and placed a large hand on Hiccup's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. His father knew he was a little riled up.

"Mr. Finnegan, if you will allow me, this should explain some of your questions you might have about Hiccup," said Mr. Brice. He handed the folder over to him.

"What is this?" the principal asked.

"A fifteen page short-story Hiccup wrote as an assignment for my class," he replied. "Now, I understand that you and Mrs. Kryler have been concerned about his attendance the last few weeks?"

"This is none of your concern," Mr. Finnegan stated. "Shouldn't you be in your classroom?"

"I have a co-worker looking after my students," Mr. Brice said. "A few minutes of time is all I need." He turned to Hiccup and smiled. "What you have failed to do this last week is come to Hiccup's teachers and ask us what we feel should be done regarding is attendance-"

"Mr. Brice-"

"You will find in that folder a total of five letters from Hiccup's teachers-one including my own," Mr. Brice replied. "You will also find that each letter regards him as an excellent student. Even his math teacher says despite missing the days he has, he's exceled in her class-he's taught himself the math problems."

Hiccup let out a breath when he realized he was holding it in.

"Mr. Finnegan, I think you will find that young Mr. Vast is more than capable at handling his school work despite his absence with those letters. He has maintained his grades. He doesn't cause trouble in class out at the school. If you pay attention to the teacher's handbook, you will find that he meets all of the requirements despite what the student handbook says about missing too many days."

Hiccup felt his father squeeze his shoulder again. It reminded him to take in a deep breath.

Mr Finnegan seemed dumbfounded. Mrs. Kryler seemed slightly confused as she was not handed the essay that Mr. Brice had brought in.

"Do you have anymore questions for Hiccup?" Mr. Brice asked them.

They were both silent.

"Hiccup, I believe your father said you wanted to see me and Mrs. Vickerson together-something about a project you wanted to do?"

Hiccup gave a weak nod, then reached down to grab his crutches.

"Thank you for your time today," Mr. Vast said to the principal and Mrs. Kryler. With that he and Hiccup followed Mr. Brice out of the office.

...

Hiccup heaved into the toilet. His chest ached, sweat poured from his body, and he was shaking uncontrollably.

Trying to catch is breath, he leaned his forehead against the edge of the cool porcelain. He felt like he was losing all control again. He was on the fence about ready to topple over. His mind felt like it was in a fog. He hadn't felt this horrible in months, not even when he had the flu.

He reached for his cell phone that laid on the floor. Trying to compose himself a little bit, he dialed his father. To Hiccup's surprise, he answered the phone in two rings.

"Hi, son," his father replied pleasantly.

"Hi-" His voice broke. He choked on his own liquid in his throat and mouth.

"You all right?" his father asked.

"Kinda," Hiccup lied. "When are you coming home? It's after 4:30."

His father was silent on the other line for a few seconds. "I'm just leaving the office. Promise."

"Okay," Hiccup replied. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. Sweat was pouring from his body. "I just-I don't feel so great-"

"What's wrong?" Instantly Hiccup could hear the worry in his father's voice.

"I feel like I have the flu, but-not exactly the flu."

"Is something bothering you?" his father asked him.

"Yeah," Hiccup said, letting a cough escape his chest. "My chest is pounding-I'm sweating-I'm dizzy-"

"Okay-Katherine is on her way over now. I just need to grab my brief case-"

"Okay, thanks," Hiccup said. He hung up right away, feeling the nausea taste in his mouth again. He tried to control his breathing, and he tried to wave the feeling away. After a few deep breaths, it seem to have subsided.

He heard a knock at the door suddenly. He thought it might have been Katherine. Swallowing hard, he reached for his crutch and pushed himself up. Heading down the hallway towards the front door, it then dawned on him that Katherine actually had a key to the house. She wouldn't have been knocking.

Astrid!

He leaned himself against the wall farthest away from the front door. He looked down at his cell phone. Sure enough, a text had just come through.

4:43 PM - I'M HERE, BABE.

Why was she here?

Of course! They were supposed to watch a movie! He slapped himself in the face, and a sudden wave of worry hit him hard again. His stomach went into a knot. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he willed himself to calm down.

He heard a muffled voice outside the door. It was Katherine. She greeted Astrid kindly, and he heard them messing with the lock on the door. There wasn't any way Astrid was leaving at this point. He'd hoped he could text her and tell her he wasn't home, but now that wasn't going to work. He signed, and forced himself towards the front door to greet them.

Katherine was the first one inside, and he gave her a weak smile as she entered. Honestly, he felt a little relieved knowing she was there.

"You okay, champ?" she asked him quietly.

He nodded, but as she approached he could see the concern in her eyes. Great, another person to worry over him. Not what he had in mind.

Astrid approached him as Katherine walked into the kitchen to put her purse and overnight bag down on the table. Instantly, he hand went to his forehead. Concern was all over her face.

"Another fever?" she asked gently.

He sighed. He tried to keep his head up, but his eyes drew away from her. He didn't like her to worry over him. He didn't like anyone worrying over him; his father was the exception to that.

"C'mon over here," Katherine said gently, pulling a kitchen chair out for him to sit in. "Let's have a look at you."

His head fell forward a little more, and he slowly headed towards the kitchen table.

...

 **Okay, so I like this a little more. I don't want to keep Hiccup sounding like a weakling, but I have been doing that a lot here lately. I wanted to edit this last portion. I hope no one starts throwing stones for my edit. I hope you like this edit better. I am starting the next chapter now.**

 **Thanks everyone again for giving me some reviews!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I HAD NO IDEA THE LAST SEASON OF RACE TO THE EDGE WAS COMING OUT! Hubby and I binged watched it and honestly, other than a few small details, I loved it! I would have liked to see more development in Astrid and Hiccup's relationship, but other than that, it was fabulous! I won't give any spoilers.**

 **So, yes, in case anyone was wondering, I do have Hiccup having panic attacks. I think it's because I myself have been going through them more here lately, and I am trying to find more of an outlet for that. So, please forgive me, this would be the last chapter I touch on that for right now I do believe. I need to wrap this one up, as I am afraid if I go farther into detail with this, it'll lose quality.**

 **Thanks for keeping me going, guys! I am so glad I am able to do this!**

 **...**

Mr. Vast had woken Hiccup up bright and early Saturday morning. Hiccup didn't quite understand why, but he'd pushed Hiccup towards a hot shower, and had given Hiccup a set of clothes to put on afterwards.

"It's Saturday-"

"Your point, Hiccup?" Mr. Vast asked him. "You get up early all the time on Saturdays. Today shouldn't be any different."

Hiccup knew his father was right. He wasn't one to just lay around all day. He was always dong something, always on the move, unless he was asleep. Here lately was the exception to how routine.

After his shower (which had been slightly on the cold side), Hiccup emerged out of the bathroom. He heard plates clicking together as they were being stacked one on top of the other. Upon entering the room, he saw Katherine putting the them away in the cabinet.

"Morning," she said to him gently.

"Hi," he said to her. He still felt a little groggy, and had to blink a couple of times to actually believe what he was seeing was where it was. At his seat on the kitchen table was a stack of pancakes with butter. The whole bottle of pancake syrup sat beside a tall glass of orange juice. This was not something he was prepared to see.

"Uh-" he began.

"Eat," Katherine said to him gently. "Your father and I already have."

Hiccup leaned his crutch against the wall and took his seat. Even though he wasn't really all that hungry, he sat down and poured himself a little syrup on the side of his place. Cutting his pancakes with the fork slowly, he dipped them into the syrup, and took a bite. They tasted delicious. He decided he'd have another bite.

A moment later, his father arrived from the back hallway and into the kitchen. He sat Hiccup's backpack down on the chair across from him.

"What is that?" Hiccup asked.

"You know very well what it is," Mr. Vast replied to him slowly. "Finish your breakfast. We will be going on a car ride today."

Hiccup choked on his fourth bite. He chased it with some juice. "A car ride?"

"Yes, just a short one," Mr. Vast said to him.

Hiccup looked over at Katherine. He tried to read her expression on her face, but she hadn't reacted. He glanced back at his father, they both exchanged a glare, and then Mr. Vast looked away.

What was his father up to? What kind of ride was he talking about? Was Hiccup going crazy? Was his father trying to admit him into a mental institution? After all, Hiccup was on the verge of feeling like he was going crazy. The whole week he'd had horrible nightmares, had been sick. It took all he had to talk his father out of taking him to the emergency room the night before. Astrid had left after Hiccup had taken the medication his father told him to take. Honestly, he hadn't talked to her since she left.

He checked his phone, clicked on her name, and saw the last message she sent him last night.

6:43 PM - I HOPE YOU GET TO FEELING BETTER. OX

He smiled to himself. She did care about him. He knew that, and had to remind himself that she did the last few days. He still hadn't completely shaken off their fight, so he felt.

"You finished?"

Mr. Vast had knocked Hiccup out of his thoughts. His hand was holding Hiccup's plate, although he hadn't completely removed it from the table just yet. Hiccup stared down at it, realizing he'd eaten every last bite.

"Yes, thank you," he replied back, then reached for his glass of orange juice and finished it. His father took it from him before he could sit it back down on the table and handed it to Katherine.

"Grab your bag," Mr. Vast said to him. He turned to Katherine. "I won't be gone long."

I. _I won't be gone long_. Where was Hiccup going to be? Why did his father strictly refer to himself verses themselves?

Hiccup supported himself with his crutch, then grabbed his bag, and headed out the front door alone. Standing on the porch, he suddenly realized how warm it was outside. He could hear the birds chirping, and he could the sweetness in the air. Spring was approaching or it was here, depending on how well the weather would cooperate the next few weeks. And, it sent a cold chill down his spine. He loved it.

His father was behind him suddenly, shutting the door behind him. In his hand he held his thermos. He waved Hiccup to the car. He was barely speaking to Hiccup, and that bothered him. Sighing, Hiccup headed towards the passenger side of the car, threw his bag down at the foot-board, and took a seat inside. Allowing his father to grab his crutch from him, it was placed into the back seat of the car. Shortly thereafter, they were on the road.

"Where are we going?" Hiccup asked him at the first stop sign.

"You'll see," Mr. Vast replied.

Crossing his arms, Hiccup was growing irritated. He sat in silence for a few minutes, before he spoke.

"Am I in trouble? From last night-"

"Great Thor, Hiccup," Mr. Vast breathed. "Why do you think you are in trouble over that?"

"Well, I haven't exactly been an easy person to live with this last week-" Hiccup began. "I mean-I've kept you up all night most this week-and last night, I-"

"Relax, son," Mr. Vast said to him. "You aren't in any trouble. I have a request. Give it a little bit of time, and you will find out what it is."

Hiccup felt his head involuntarily cock sideways. What was his father up to? It wasn't like him to keep secrets. The man was usually straight to the point. His mysteriousness was beginning to bother Hiccup.

A few minutes later, Hiccup realized they were heading slightly out of town. He felt his pulse quicken. Could it be?

"Are we going to the woods?" Hiccup asked him.

Mr. Vast gave a little smile. "Well, you are. I am not."

"Dad, I-"

"I packed your bag for you," his father over-spoke. Turning into the parking lot, he pulled the car into park. It was the same parking space Hiccup had parked in the day he had taken Astrid out for their hike.

"Dad-"

"You'll find your sketchbook, a set of headphones, a back up battery for your phone, and a couple bottles of water." He picked up his thermos and handed it to Hiccup. "And some coffee just in case you need some."

"Dad-I-"

His father interrupted him again. His large hand fell onto Hiccup's shoulder. "Hiccup-you need to have your time. You don't need to share it with me, or Katherine, or Astrid-"

"Astrid-"

"Hiccup?" his father stopped him again. "You haven't been out here alone in weeks. This is your happy place. I know that, and so do you."

Hiccup looked down at the thermos that his father had pushed into his hand. He felt like he was standing on top of the fence trying to decide which side to jump to. To be honest, he didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to have another spell like he had had the day before without someone around. But, his father had gone through all this trouble already to surprise him. He was grateful, and he didn't want to appear as though he wasn't.

"Dad, I can't go like this-" Hiccup said, gesturing to his leg.

"Ah, that," Mr. Vast said to him. He leaned down and reached under his own seat, and pulled out Hiccup's prosthetic. "I knew you wouldn't put it on in the house-you haven't been wearing it here lately-"

"You've been paying attention," Hiccup said to him. "Some days it's just best to leave it alone-especially after last time-"

"Hiccup, don't worry about what happened in the past," Mr. Vast said to him. "You've been this-tense, nervous person the last week. I don't want you to feel that way."

Hiccup turned his head away from his father. He felt his shoulder's drop. He let out a sigh. "I don't like feeling this way. I don't know what it is-I can't seem to shake it."

"You've had a lot on your plate the last three weeks," Mr. Vast said to him, rubbing his son's shoulder. "Here, put this on."

While Hiccup bent over in his seat to attach his prosthetic, he turned to his father.

"Any ideas what is wrong with me?" he asked him. "I'm okay one minute and an emotional, physical wreck the next. I don't like it." He paused for a moment. "Should we talk to Dr. Gothi?"

"I spoke to her interpreter this morning about you," Mr. Vast said. "We both agreed that you probably have some anxiety. It's pushed your mind into overdrive. Therefore, your body is having different reactions."

Hiccup frowned at him. "I don't get it-"

"You've been through a lot of emotions the last couple of weeks. You haven't been-out here-" his father gestured to the woods. "We both know this is where you've found peace over the last few years. This is where you would have preferred to be at the week I grounded you."

"That seems like forever ago," Hiccup said to him.

"That it does," his father replied. "Now, do yourself a favor. Go for your hike, find a spot to sit and doodle-whatever makes you happy. When you are done, give me a call and I will make the drive in to get you, okay?"

Hiccup gave a weak smile and nodded.

"Have you heard from Astrid yet this morning?" Mr. Vast asked.

"Dad-you woke me up at six-thirty. I doubt she's up right now."

His father nodded. "May I pry for a moment? Is that okay?"

Hiccup crossed his arms in front of himself. "Depends on what you are asking."

"Well, since your-misunderstanding, I will call it that-you haven't really been with her or talking to her a whole lot. That's just something I've observed. Are you two okay?"

Sighing, Hiccup swallowed. "I think I've been focusing on getting better. I forgot she was coming over last night. I instantly felt bad when she knocked, and text me saying she was there. I don't want her to keep seeing me like she has been-weak-"

"Son, you aren't weak," Mr. Vast said. "I wish you understood that there's more than just being strong and good at sports."

"I do," Hiccup replied. "Dad, I've never really had a crush on someone up until this point. I really do like her. And, I am a little confused still."

"Confused how?"

Hiccup rubbed his arm nervously. "We are together a lot-Some days I wonder if she's sticking around because I helped her when she was down in the accident. Sometimes I wonder if she takes pitty on me because of-well, the leg thing."

Mr. Vast sighed. He turned away from Hiccup for a moment, and seemed to be pondering Hiccup's words. Did he actually stump his father?

"Hiccup, I don't think she is pitying you-I think you need to forget that. Look at how much you guys have grown close to each other. Try to remember a few weeks ago when she came to see you at the hospital, and all the text messages you guys sent back and forth-and the conversations you both have shared. If she didn't want to be with you, son, I think she would have been gone a long time ago. It wasn't easy for her to leave you last night when you were down the way you were. I could tell."

Hiccup nodded. "Dad, I still haven't kissed her-"

"And you don't have to. Don't kiss her just because you feel it's expected. Kiss her when you feel that it's right for you."

"I've never exactly kissed a girl before, you know. I feel like I'm doing good just holding her hand and cuddling to be quite honest-"

"Then just continue to do that," Mr. Vast said. "There's no time frame you specifically have to follow. That is something you will realize the older you get, too. You do what feels right at the time for the _two_ of you. I do think you need some alone time, though. That is why Katherine and I came up with this today."

"Katherine planning this out as well?"

Mr. Vast nodded. "She thought you needed a better meal than just yogurt and apples. You really do need to eat more. Your doctor has been telling you that for a while."

"I'm just built small," Hiccup said.

"You are built like your mother," Mr. Vast said. "And there isn't anything wrong with that." He then pushed the thermos into Hiccup's hand. "Take your coffee, you might just need it to wake up a little more. I'll be home all day working on that hot water tank."

"I'll actually get to take a hot shower tonight?"

"Maybe," Mr. Vast replied. "Now-go! Enjoy yourself! If I don't hear from you by two I will get to wondering. I didn't exactly pack you more than a peanut butter sandwich for lunch."

"Whatever you and Katherine did, Dad. It was great. Thank you," He pushed the door open. Stepping out of the car felt strange. He'd done this a hundred times in the past, but this time felt-foreign to him. Maybe his father was right-his whole routine had been thrown off so much over the past several weeks. Waving at his father, he headed towards the woods.

He was finally heading back to his element.

...

 **It is a shorter chapter, but I feel like if I didn't stop here it would get too long. I have a couple more planned, and after that I am going to move onto other ideas, especially now that RTTE has more content to take advantage of!**

 **Hope everyone had a good weekend!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I SOOOO need to get word on my computer. Just lost the beginnings of my story because my internet "hiccuped." Happens about every other story I do. Maybe it's a sign from Thor it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be in my head.**

 **Okay, here we go again.**

 **...**

Hiccup woke up suddenly. To his right, he could hear someone walking slowly. Opening his eyes, he scanned towards that direction, and didn't move from where he sat inside the woods.

A moment later, a doe came into his vision and was slowly walking past. He could see her ears turning every which way, listening for any danger around her. He made sure to stay perfectly still. He didn't want to startle her while he took watched her, taking in her features. He really wanted to sketch her, but he feared if he reached for his pencil she would be startled.

She went through the arch at the top of the hill, and disappeared a few moments later.

He realized then he had been holding his breath while he gazed at her. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling, he finally relaxed. It was then that he noticed his music on his phone had stopped playing. However long ago it was, he wasn't sure. Looking down at his lap, he had fallen asleep mid-sketch of a willow tree up on the ridge. He couldn't locate his pencil. Glancing around himself, he realized he had probably dropped it and it rolled down to the base of the stone rock he'd leaned against some five feet below.

He threw his legs over the ledge, and reached for his back pack, pulling out the thermos and a small tin cup to pour himself some coffee. By this time it was barely even warm. He chugged three swallows down, and breathed.

He was hungry, and decided to pull out his peanut butter sandwich.

What time was it? Looking at his phone, he realized it was approaching three in the afternoon. Suddenly, he became aware he hadn't talked to Astrid yet today. He clicked on his text messages, and realized she'd only text him once earlier.

11:12 AM - HOW ARE YOU FEELING THIS MORNING?

He felt horrible for not texting her sooner. He went to type her back, but paused. How would he reply to that after going nearly twenty-four hours without talking to her? Biting the inside of his lip, he thought.

He'd been completely confused all week. His nightmares had taken their toll on him, and his father. All he could think about was the rejection he felt when her mother had indicated to Astrid she didn't approve. He needed to take a step back, and place himself into her mother's shoes, even just for a few moments. Astrid was her only child. And, she had never shown much interest in dating anyone, let alone keeping them company so much throughout the past few weeks. And, Hiccup had only gone over to Astrid's house one time just to pick her up, and her father was the only one home at the time. Mrs. Hofferson had been out.

Would his father have reacted the same way if the roles had been reversed? Maybe, considering he wasn't too happy about Hiccup being too close to the accident the night it happened. He wasn't completely sure why his father had pleaded with him to go inside as much as he did, and Hiccup being a little headstrong had told him no just as many times. It might have been because he was afraid of the mental stress it could have caused Hiccup between the ambulance ride and the stress from the paramedics...He might have to ask his dad about that one.

Anyways, with Mrs. Hofferson, was she just not ready for Astrid to start dating? Or was she just worried Astrid was getting too involved with someone like Hiccup, someone with a disability? Astrid and Hiccup knew he was more than capable of taking care of himself. Or did she? After all, he'd been pretty much down for the count over the last several weeks, especially this last week. He'd missed a lot of school.

"I am not giving her a good impression at all," Hiccup sighed to himself. He leaned back again. He took a small bite of his sandwich, and chewed it slowly, still thinking about Astrid's mother. Obviously, this had been on the back of his mind for nearly a week now. Finally, having peace, he was able to think.

Hiccup knew they had started out too quickly, he could feel that. They'd been spending all of their free time together. But, he wanted her close. Just texting her hadn't been enough for him, and for her, she didn't seem to like being away too long either. She was great company, and it was something he hadn't had in his sixteen years. Sure, he and Fish were decent friends, and considered each other best friends, but they weren't like this. They didn't talk on a daily basis. Fish still didn't know, or maybe even cared to know, the details surrounding Hiccup's fall. Not like Astrid did. He'd let her into his heart quickly. And, he liked having her in his life.

It had only been three weeks. In three week's time, they went from being acquaintances, to friends, to holding hands and cuddling on the couch. He'd kissed her head and cheek multiple times. Seeing her upset bothered him. He cared for her, and he believed she cared for him. He hadn't scared her off. Somehow, it all was working out.

Up until her mother caused Astrid to get upset. And, had he not pressured her to telling him what was wrong, he never would have known. Had he not had his phantom pain last weekend, he would have been able to introduce himself properly at dinner, they would of had the chance to talk, and maybe her mother would have been more at ease with their relationship...whatever kind of relationship they actually had.

Were they boyfriend/girlfriend? Were they still in the courting stage? Heck, he had only taken her out once properly, if taking her on a hike was a proper date.

"Crap!" Hiccup said aloud. He hadn't even taken her to dinner yet. That was something he should have done the first week.

But, maybe that wasn't the right time. When would the right time have been? Should he have even been kissing her cheek and forehead without meeting her mother by this point? But, her father approved of him...

Suddenly, he shoved his sketchbook into his bag, shoved the half of the sandwich into his mouth for safe keeping. He threw the pack over his back, and slid down to the ground. He took a moment to look for his pencil but found no trace of it. He then headed through the arch and down the zig-zag trail, still holding his sandwich in his mouth and texting.

3:45 PM - DAD CAN YOU COME PICK ME UP IN LIKE 20 MINUTES?

He quickly ate the his sandwich and wiped the crumbs off of his hands before he picked up the phone and decided it was high time he text Astrid. He thought carefully, and watched where he was walking, being careful not to trip on the path down.

3:51 PM - ASTRID, FORGIVE ME FOR NOT GETTING BACK WITH YOU SOONER. DO YOU HAVE PLANS THIS EVENING?

He could tell he was holding his breath nervously. His mind was racing. So much information was rushing through his head. Becoming overwhelmed, he stopped, grabbed one of the saplings on the path, and held it to keep himself steady on the hill.

Knowing he needed to slow his mind down, he closed his eyes and tried to even his breathing. He felt himself becoming less stressed after a moment, and then he felt his phone vibrate in his pouch.

4:04 PM - NO PLANS. WHAT DID YOU HAVE IN MIND?

He smiled to himself, and replied. Then, he headed down the hill, making himself to slow down while he headed out of the woods.

...

Astrid felt her pulse quicken when she saw Hiccup's reply.

4:09 PM - YOU ARE BEING SERIOUS?

Instantly, she was up off of her bed, putting her English book to the side, and looking through her closet. She probably slid ten different outfits across the pole in her closet before she found herself stopping on a blue and brown dress. Not too under or overly dressed. She had yet to wear it. It was the dress her mother bought for her last year on clearance. It still had the tags on it.

She needed to shower to freshen her hair up a little bit more. It was unmanageable after falling asleep with it wet the night before.

Astrid needed to make sure Hiccup was being serious. She didn't want to get her hopes up. She waited patiently for a response back. To pass the time, she pulled out her blue eye shadow from her make up bag, and chose some mascara for her eye lashes. She really didn't like having blond eye lashes. Putting dark make up on them always looked like she had overdone it with the make up. She found a light brown she could apply.

Her phone vibrated.

4:17 PM - YES. IS 6 PM TOO EARLY? IF IT IS, WE CAN DO A LITTLE LATER.

4:18 PM - NO, THAT'S PER

Oh, no. She hadn't asked her parents just yet. Her breath caught in her chest. Her head rolled back at this realization. She needed to ask them before she hopped into the shower to get ready. Rushing down the stairs, she went looking for her parents. Luckily, both of her parents were rooting through a couple of boxes with together in the kitchen. Astrid identified them as old bills her grandmother had saved in the basement at least twenty years prior. They had been purging some unnecessary items lately.

"Mom, Dad!" she said, coming into the kitchen.

"Yes?" her mother asked her, not looking up from the box. Instead, she was looking at a few envelopes, and shoving them into the electric shredder at her feet. Her father had looked at her and given her a kind smile.

"Is-is it okay if I go out tonight?" she asked.

"And with _whom_ are you going out with tonight?" Mrs. Hofferson asked.

Astrid heard the tone in her voice. She could already tell this was going to be a battle that she didn't exactly have time for.

"Hiccup-"

"He can't go to school but take you out on a date?" her mother snapped.

"Darcy-"

"Don't 'Darcy' me," she responded back. "Astrid, he's missed a lot of school over the last few weeks. Doesn't he have work he needs to-"

"Mom!" Astrid yelled over her. "We have been through this. Hiccup has completed _all_ of his work. He hasn't fallen behind at all. May I please go to dinner with him tonight?"

"Why such last minute notice?" her mother asked her, putting the envelopes she had in her hand back into the box. Her hip went to her hip, and she looked at Astrid.

"I-I honestly don't know," Astrid said to her. "On the bright side, he's picking me up-you can meet him-"

"What time are you wanting to go out? And what time will you be home?" her mother asked.

"Six tonight, and probably home by ten-if that is okay," Astrid said.

Her mother looked at her husband. She didn't look too thrilled with this.

"Please," Astrid asked her gently.

Her father exchanged another look with her mother.

"Darc-the kid is a good one. You just need to take the time and give him a chance-"

"How do you know he is?" Mrs. Hofferson asked him. "You've met the boy twice-"

"I have told you multiple times. He isn't like the other kids I've met at that school. He has manners, and morals. Darc-you really just need to give him more of a chance."

Astrid smiled. Thank the Gods for her father. He was willing to let her go.

"Mom-please give him a chance," Astrid said to her, approaching her closer. "It's all I am asking for. For you to give him a chance. Just meet him once. I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

"You are that sure, are you?" her mother said to her.

Astrid nodded to her. "I am."

"I'll second that," Mr. Hofferson said.

Her mother rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, I can see I am out-numbered here. Six to ten, no later, correct?"

Astrid nodded to her, smiling from ear to ear. "Yes, promise!"

"Okay, go get ready then," Mrs. Hofferson said to her. It was then that Astrid detected a small smile from the left side of her mother's face. Her dimple was showing. It would have been the only thing that would give it a way considering her mother seemed to be made of stone lately.

"Thank you!" She hugged her mother quickly, and rushed upstairs to start her shower. Before she jumped in, she responded to Hiccup.

4:31 PM - NO, THAT'S PERFECT! *happy face emoji*

...

Leaving the house at 5:34 was a struggle for Hiccup. To be quite honest, his stomach felt like it was filled with massive butterflies. He hoped he looked nice to take Astrid out tonight, but more importantly, nice enough to impress her mother, and to make a second good impression on her father.

Katherine had helped Hiccup choose his outfit. A pair of black slacks and a nice maroon zip up pullover was what she chose for him. She paired it with a pair of dark dress shoes. When Hiccup had gotten out of the shower, and had changed, he nervously pulled on his prosthetic. This was when his stomach began filling with butterflies.

"It'll be fine," Katherine said to him, fixing the collar of his shirt. Before she could turn away, Hiccup had grabbed her hand.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "And-I don't think I ever really gave you a fair chance before. For that, I am sorry-"

"Shhhh," she said to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "It's quite all right. If I was a teenager and I knew my father was dating a coworker, I know I would have reacted the same way. It doesn't matter now, okay?"

Hiccup nodded.

The drive over he thought he would vomit, but he threw a mint into his mouth to help settle the taste.

"Stop being so nervous, Hiccup," he told himself gently. "You can do this."

Introducing himself to her father hadn't been this hard. Was it because he knew Mr. Hofferson had seen him at a weak moment? Or, was he just that confident with himself when he went to pick Astrid up the first time? He wasn't sure. He wanted to make a good impression. He had to.

Pulling up to the curb outside the house, he took in a deep breath. He realized he had been biting the inside of his lip nervously.

"I can do this," he said to himself, and he hopped out of the car and headed for the doorway.

He paused at the door. Was it better to knock, or ring the bell. He quickly noted that Astrid did not have a dog to disturb, so instead he rang the doorbell. His stomach filled when he heard it inside the house. Holding back a wave of nausea, he waited.

...

Astrid gasped when she realized the doorbell had rung. She was applying her make up and hadn't slipped her dress on. She should have known he would be early. Knowing her mother was going to answer the door, she held her breath and said a silent prayer before continuing to get ready.

She rushed, not wanting to leave Hiccup alone too long with her parents. Her father was one story, but her mother was another. She quickly slipped into her dress, then slipped her feet into a pair of brown shoes with a little heel. She grabbed a clutch purse, and threw her phone and some cash into it, and headed towards the stairs.

She waited there, listening to see if she could hear them talking at all. All she heard were muffled voices. Her father had the radio on downstairs. Why? Was he doing this on purpose to save her the anxiety of listening to Hiccup and her mother talking. Debating on whether or not to go downstairs, she waited a moment, then she looked at her phone.

It was 5:54 now.

She decided to head down the steps. At the base of the steps, Hiccup was standing, his arm outstretched resting on the base of the old banister. He had looked up when he saw her, and he gave her a large smile. He looked good.

"Evening-Astrid."

She smiled slightly. He almost said the secret nick-name. He had stumbled slightly. Eventually, she hoped they'd hear him call her that. She liked having a pet name.

Turning to look at her mother, she saw that she was actually smiling. She caught her looking at the two of them, and a larger smile had spread across her face.

Astrid suddenly felt herself fall forward on the last two steps. Her breath caught in her chest, and she felt herself nearly fall. Opening her eyes, she realized Hiccup had caught her before she fell on her face.

"Astrid, are you okay?" he asked her.

She was okay. She laughed at herself. "I'm used to tennis shoes and boots-not high heels." She laughed, and she could hear her mother and father laughing as well.

Looking right up at Hiccup, she realized he hadn't let her go. His hands remained on her forearms. Her hands on his. He was supporting her, making sure she was able to stand on her own.

"All right, then," he said gently, removing his hands. He turned to her parents again. "It was nice meeting you, ma'am." He reached over and shook her hand, then turned to her father. "Nice to see you again, sir."

"Pleasure is mine," her father said to him, shaking his hand and patting him on the shoulder.

"Ten o'clock?" Hiccup asked.

Suddenly, Astrid's mother spoke up.

"Eleven is fine," she replied. "In case you want to catch a movie after dinner."

Astrid had to hold herself back from beaming. She saw Hiccup give a weak smile, and he nodded. He turned back to her, and surprisingly, he bent his elbow to her. Astrid didn't know what to think of it. Biting the inside of her mouth, she reached her hand up towards it, and grasped his arm. Luckily he was supporting her. She had nearly rolled her ankle on the way out the door.

Hearing the door close behind them, Astrid let out a breath.

"The worst is over," she said to him. Glancing over at him, she saw him smile a little bit wider and he shook his head. "You don't agree?" she asked.

Suddenly, she tripped again as they approached the passenger side door. He supported her, opened her door, and let her slip inside.

"No, I don't believe so," he whispered to her.

What did he mean by that? What was he talking about?

She watched him walk to the front of the car, before he slipped into the driver's side. Starting the car, he pulled out into the street. She heard him swallow hard.

"You okay?" she asked him. "Did my mom scare you?"

"No, she didn't," Hiccup said. "We had a nice conversation while you were finishing getting ready. Again, I am sorry for the late notice."

"I'm just glad you asked," Astrid said to him.

After stopping at his second stop sign, Hiccup pulled the car over to the curb. This confused Astrid. He put the car in park, and turned to her. She saw a smile on his face. He was eyeing her. Their eyes met again, and his grin widened.

"Is everything okay, Hiccup?" she asked him.

He slowly and gently reached over and touched her neck. He leaned in closer. She tilted her head forward, expecting him to kiss her forehead like he always did.

Instead, he used his hand to tip her head back, and suddenly his warm lips touched hers. The initial shock caused her to freeze. His lips were soft and warm against her's. It was then she realized she forgot to put some chap stick on her lips. Were her's dry?

He pulled away, and they opened their eyes and looked at each other. He let out a deep breath, and smiled at her. His hand didn't leave her cheek, and she could feel his thumb stroking her jawline.

"Now, milady, the worst is over."

 *******THE END*******

...

To be quite honest I wasn't expecting to end this until Chapter 20 as my OCD hits me. But, the opportunity and cuteness was just THERE! A few of you asked for some of Astrid's point of view, and I presented them in this chapter. I could do a Hiccup's point of view, but I have a feeling if I were to continue with that, I wouldn't STOP WRITING this. It needed to end. I was beginning to lose track of what I had written before, and I've probably read and re-read all the chapters 5 times each to make sure I didn't write something incorrectly.

So, tell me what you think! And if you have any ideas for another story you may want to see, send them my way! I have an idea in mind, but I haven't quite tweaked it just yet. And, honestly, I don't know if it would even be A HTTYD fic or another fanfic.

Thank you everyone who wrote me reviews giving me the courage to move forward with this story! It means so much to have such great support!


	20. Chapter 20

**I am sorry to disappoint anyone who is following this for an update...this is not an update on this story. This is not a new story. Again, I do apologize.**

 **I have been absent from Fanfiction for a bit, and again, I am sorry.**

 **I have been trying to focus my creativity on a book. Whether it goes to being published or whether it lands itself on a hard drive of this computer, only to be discovered 20 years after my death, so be it. I have to get it out of me. Working 50 plus hours a week, along with household responsibilities have given little time to try to write.**

 **I am struggling, though, and needing some help. If you are still here, thank you. I need some guidance from some fellow writers. And, I do hope to come up with some more stories in the future.**

 **In high school I was a huge Nicholas Sparks fan. Something that I have held onto since was I believe from his Memoir...He said to never stop reading. Always read. I believe he would write for a few hours a day, and would read a few hours a day. On top of taking time off from writing, I have been listening to audio books. My favorite ones has been Gillian Flynn's "Dark Places." I've started it twice. I'm just in aw over her creativity involved in that book...how everything has lined up together, all these different personas. All that imagination...and the writing style.**

 **The book I am working on is an extended version of "Morals." More detail is what I am aiming for. I want it to be a young-adult book. I want it to flow beautifully. I want detail...and I am struggling with it so horribly. No joke, I have restarted the first chapter half a dozen times, writing and rewriting. I'd give it up for a day, then re-read what I wrote and just absolutely dislike it, deleting four or more hours of work. I know this is part of the process. I know that it won't be perfect. But, I am not liking how it is flowing.**

 **I've also struggled with making the tone from a first person POV or a third person POV. I don't think I've ever really written anything in first person, and I feel as though if I do it would be a much stronger story. But, then again, I am not a boy. I am a woman writing a story through the eyes of a sixteen year old boy.**

 **I know this is a process. I have dealt with writers block before. Just...not this badly...Maybe it's because I want this SOOOO horribly I can taste it!**

 **Walking into work at my full job, once I take a bite of my usual, boring yogurt, as soon as my hands fall onto the keyboard, all I can think about it writing that story. I've paid closer attention to details I don't normally do on a daily basis, perhaps how someone stands, or how I can depict a nervous habit from one of my kids at my part-time job. I've had this vision of my character in my head, and I do not see Hiccup Haddock III...I am seeing a new character with new interests, new habits of Stoick in the book, more developed...putting it down on paper...outside of a time-line, I choke up!**

 **Has anyone ever felt like this? I have loved and I mean, loved writing since I was eight years old. When my teacher assigned us to write a story, I remember just how excited it was to write that story down on paper. I had one teacher literally put a length limit on me in fifth grade because I couldn't stop writing. My stories were easily 3-5 pages longer than my peers. When I was twelve I was learning to make paragraphs. I walked up to my teacher and told him "I want to learn how to make paragraphs." I remember the look this large man with an army cut gave me, and he sat down during recess one day and had me form paragraphs on a computer. Since then, I started writing large stories.**

 **In high school I would sit for hours and write, and my teachers couldn't figure out why I had such a fast typing speed. When I told them I liked to write, the realized that had to be why. I was trying to type correctly without being taught. I love the sound of each key hitting the keyboard as I type. I love forming words and sentences and making up my own characters. It fuels me.**

 **So why am I struggling now? In college I lost a lot of passion for writing. I was getting discouraged because my teacher never commented about anything I wrote, just kinda shoved me off to talk about one of the girl's in class, she loved her poetry and I couldn't write poetry. I remember being so envious of her character development, and I still remember that after ten years. I remember also thinking about how "bold"s he was writing about people's bad habits, their addictions. etc. I know it takes practice. I know everyone is different and has their own way of writing. I want to get better. I want sooo badly to put this story out there, to improve it...afterall, "Morals" did start on an idea I had for another story I had been working on in high school. That first chapter was practically that story, minus the substitutions of Hiccup and Astrid, and also of Stoic.**

 **If anything this gave me time to vent and to think. If you are still reading this, thank you. I will continue to try to get that story done, and hopefully work on some of the unfinished stories I have on here too...Love you all!**


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